Argentine poet Juan Gelman

Gelman Says Writers Need to Find Their “Own Voice” to Be Original

MANILA – Writers need to find “their own voice” to be original amid a literary context in which everyone uses the same language, according to Argentine poet Juan Gelman.

“When a writer or a poet discovers his own voice he’s being original, because what all human beings have in common is that we’re all different,” the winner of the 2007 edition of Spain’s Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s top literary honor, said during an interview with Efe in the Philippine capital.

Gelman, on the other hand, said that plagiarism “is a sign of childishness in the creator, a theft, that’s clear,” although he went on to say that there are “inevitable influences that slip into” writers’ works.

“No one is born by spontaneous generation,” he said.

The 78-year-old poet, on a visit to the former Spanish colony, said that he does not believe there is such a thing as the perfect work of art and that he considers himself unfit to judge any poem he has written since his first book, “Violin y otras cuestiones” (Violin and Other Questions), was published in 1956.

“It’s very difficult for me to judge what I do. It’s not to feign a purity that I don’t have; in general everything seems unsatisfactory to me. I suppose that’s the reason I keep writing, to see if I can ever ensnare poetry,” the writer said.

Gelman, who is also a journalist, said his poems have become more and more brief and concentrated as he strives to employ the smallest number of words possible.

According to the author of works including “Los poemas de Sidney West” (The Poems of Sidney West), “Fabulas” (Fables), “Carta Abierta” (Open Letter) and “Hacia el Sur” (Toward the South), “reading is a journey through oneself, because it awakens in you things you didn’t know you had. Not knowing you had them, you didn’t have them.”

He said that for him writing poems – always at night with absolute tranquility and peace of mind – is a “need and even a convulsion” that holds him the longest amount of time possible, but suddenly stops and later returns.

“When I feel pushed to write, I don’t know what I’m going to write. I find out while I’m writing,” he said.

“Poetry can’t be the result of the desire to write, but that of the need to write,” said the Argentine, whose works reflect his painful experiences with Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship.

He was a political activist until 1975 but was forced into exile by the military regime, while his son and pregnant daughter-in-law were abducted and executed.

Gelman, a member of the jury for the 2008 Cervantes Prize, which Spanish writer Juan Marse received Thursday during a ceremony at the University of Alcala, said he an avid reader of the latter’s work.

“He’s a great writer. I congratulate Juan Marse for this prize that honors him and is honored by his name,” Gelman said. EFE

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Juan Gelman: The Rebel-Poet is an Enigma

April 26, 2009, 3:17pm

Bumalik tayo sa iyong walang katapusang pagkabata/sa mga bakal na ito na walang katapusan./Hindi na ba sila titigil?/At hindi ka na titigil sa pagtigil./Balik ka ng balik/at kailangan kong ipaliwanag sa iyo na ikaw ay patay. -Juan Gelman, Regresos, translated into Filipino

With his perpetually sad eyes and reserved demeanor, famed Argentine poet Juan Gelman carries with him the complexities of Argentine past. For a while, his lips might form the curve of a smile, but it is his eyes – translucent, restless and tranquil at the same time - which somehow reveal a glimpse of his enigmatic persona.

He was born in May of 1930 in Buenos Aires, at the time when Argentina’s then-president Hipólito Yrigoyen was ousted from his position. At a very young age, Gelman displayed an inclination for the arts, being quite an avid reader. Consequently, Gelman became a journalist, but with such strong views against Argentine politics, he also joined Peronist guerilla group Montoneros. Gelman relates the “impunities” of the time: “There were disappearances of people, no democracy, no congress, and censorship of the press and media.”

It was his involvement with the Montoneros that subjected him to exile. And it was during his exile that his son and daughter-in-law (who was pregnant at the time) were executed, becoming one of the many desaparecidos of their time.

But Gelman’s granddaughter survived. And with the help of his second wife, Gelman was able to track her down. In a way, Gelman’s sad story has a redemptive ending, if not a happy one. “She’s a very brave young lady,” Gelman describes his granddaughter Macarena. “We have a very good relationship.”

 It comes as no surprise that Gelman’s works are haunting and tragic, infused with wit and matter-of-fact statements. His poetry reflects his experiences and emotions quite well. What’s surprising is that he still refers to Argentina with much love and nostalgia, a feat for any man, considering its history has brought him much pain.

“As time passes, dealing with the past becomes easier. But it cannot be forgotten; you cannot forget,” he says. “The past is always accompanied by the present – that you cannot avoid.”

Now, Gelman resides in Mexico City. When asked what he is doing now, he says, “A new book will appear on June. I work as a journalist. But now, I am a columnist for an Argentine newspaper called Pagina 12, and also for a Mexican chain paper Milenio.” He writes mostly about international politics, and reads about history and philosophy.

Having won the Cervantes Prize in 2007, Gelman has definitely reached the peak of his literary career. But when asked what he considers as his greatest achievement, he jokingly answered, “Well, next month I will be 79. That’s the greatest achievement of my life!”

As traumatizing as his past might have been, it seems that Juan Gelman has indeed learned to live with its after-effects better. The pain still subsists in his eyes, for who has not regretted the past at one point or another? But Gelman has accepted reality. As he puts it, “The pain will always remain, but you just live with it better.”