The Beauty of Chaos. Interview with John Chow .*
By: Tatiana Arguello Vargas **
Above all artistic and literary movement in poetry as in all art, beauty plays a crucial role by becoming a point balance between order and chaos of the universe. Therefore, the search for a true balance, an agreement between the content and form expressed in the poetic beauty, must be one of the most important searches of the poet.
For John Chow (Managua December 10, 1956), the pursuit of beauty is of paramount concern, and the dialectical sense of it than any literary movement. His poetry has many facets: his first book of poetry "Offices of Chaos" (Editorial Nueva Nicaragua, 1986), reprinted under the title "Offices and other versions of Chaos" (Editorial Link 2005), is a work imbued with a noticeable influence surreal, it is evident metamorphosis and transfiguration of emotions and events of everyday life.
On the other hand, in his other poetry collections: The Intelligence of the Scorpion and other boleros (Editorial Liaison, 2001), Rhetoric of Seduction (Editorial Link 2001), Love Opinion (Editorial Link 2004), uses the word in its conciseness view that beauty is to express the essence of language, a brief but sharp aesthetics with core issues of human being: thought, love, loneliness and eroticism.
In this interview, John Chow covers topics about his work and offers us his vision of what poetry is the quality and the future of Nicaraguan poetry.
By: Tatiana Arguello Vargas **
Above all artistic and literary movement in poetry as in all art, beauty plays a crucial role by becoming a point balance between order and chaos of the universe. Therefore, the search for a true balance, an agreement between the content and form expressed in the poetic beauty, must be one of the most important searches of the poet.
For John Chow (Managua December 10, 1956), the pursuit of beauty is of paramount concern, and the dialectical sense of it than any literary movement. His poetry has many facets: his first book of poetry "Offices of Chaos" (Editorial Nueva Nicaragua, 1986), reprinted under the title "Offices and other versions of Chaos" (Editorial Link 2005), is a work imbued with a noticeable influence surreal, it is evident metamorphosis and transfiguration of emotions and events of everyday life.
On the other hand, in his other poetry collections: The Intelligence of the Scorpion and other boleros (Editorial Liaison, 2001), Rhetoric of Seduction (Editorial Link 2001), Love Opinion (Editorial Link 2004), uses the word in its conciseness view that beauty is to express the essence of language, a brief but sharp aesthetics with core issues of human being: thought, love, loneliness and eroticism.
In this interview, John Chow covers topics about his work and offers us his vision of what poetry is the quality and the future of Nicaraguan poetry.
¿Qué es para usted la poesía?
He oído contestar a algunos que es una necesidad, y a otros, que es un placer; en mí son las dos cosas, escribo por necesidad y placer no me veo haciendo otra cosa.
Su primer libro de poesía “Los oficios del caos”, es una obra con fuerte influencia surrealista, háblenos de lo que significó para usted ese movimiento y sobre esta obra.
Ese libro es para mí como una escuela, en esa época yo tenía entre 17 y 20 años, aquí se hablaba de poesía exteriorista, una poesía que para mí es sospechosa; se pensaba en hablar de lo exterior sin tomar interior, a poetry cardinalist, flat, without metaphors, I was fortunate to surround myself with writers who saw the reality from the subconscious, like the children to dream, and I realized that no interior without exterior and interior without there exteriorism because both are dialectical, and art is a creative recreation, let 'tautology, a creative recreation of reality, not mechanical and I wanted to look abroad, as a black and white photography: the photographer without participation there is no point view or passion.
In his poem "Symphony of Horror" you express "anyone can be a poet in this corner, "What is your opinion if that corner was Nicaragua?
That's not just in Nicaragua but throughout the world, the title of artist is devalued, a poet who is not an artist not a poet. The common root of the poet and the artist is the essence, the catalyst, the artist is something almost divine. Here you get to pretend that the artist is a wrist drop, a drunk, a bum, and some are embarrassed to say that they are poets. There is a poem by Salomon de la Selva that says "everyone has said what they used to be soldiers, what about me? What about me would be that I do not remember? "Poet? No! I would be embarrassed to say. "No give us shame. The struggle for us is to vindicate.
He oído contestar a algunos que es una necesidad, y a otros, que es un placer; en mí son las dos cosas, escribo por necesidad y placer no me veo haciendo otra cosa.
Su primer libro de poesía “Los oficios del caos”, es una obra con fuerte influencia surrealista, háblenos de lo que significó para usted ese movimiento y sobre esta obra.
Ese libro es para mí como una escuela, en esa época yo tenía entre 17 y 20 años, aquí se hablaba de poesía exteriorista, una poesía que para mí es sospechosa; se pensaba en hablar de lo exterior sin tomar interior, a poetry cardinalist, flat, without metaphors, I was fortunate to surround myself with writers who saw the reality from the subconscious, like the children to dream, and I realized that no interior without exterior and interior without there exteriorism because both are dialectical, and art is a creative recreation, let 'tautology, a creative recreation of reality, not mechanical and I wanted to look abroad, as a black and white photography: the photographer without participation there is no point view or passion.
In his poem "Symphony of Horror" you express "anyone can be a poet in this corner, "What is your opinion if that corner was Nicaragua?
That's not just in Nicaragua but throughout the world, the title of artist is devalued, a poet who is not an artist not a poet. The common root of the poet and the artist is the essence, the catalyst, the artist is something almost divine. Here you get to pretend that the artist is a wrist drop, a drunk, a bum, and some are embarrassed to say that they are poets. There is a poem by Salomon de la Selva that says "everyone has said what they used to be soldiers, what about me? What about me would be that I do not remember? "Poet? No! I would be embarrassed to say. "No give us shame. The struggle for us is to vindicate.
In his critical book, "The mote in the eye" makes a very good review poets like Joaquín Pasos, Carlos Martínez Rivas, Ernesto Mejia Sanchez, Beltrán Morales, Ana Gómez Ilce, etc. . How has influenced his literary work the works of these authors?
These authors are the ones I liked, that I have met, the only requirement is that I have played, I do not care what they say the so-and-such, I do not mind my point of view.
Some say that leaves nothing outside to the imagination, others say the neo-Baroque trends is write in a very made up, and that may tend to obscure surrealism. What does it mean for you as poetry?
is a crucial question in the aesthetic field because poetry does not matter if you are outdoors, surreal, internist, provided there is beauty and well outdoors, surreal and internist, beauty is a dialectic, is inside, is outside flat plane distortion of what is a body, one attains the beauty for talent. The sin of poetry Foreign Office, that sought to eliminate the rest, no opinion poetry of the artist, a photograph black and white, that's not beauty, and art is what is outside and inside. Having a field without interior art is impossible, the best of Ernesto Cardenal does have a base outside but also has an interior support, if you read "zero hour", you feel the emotion, no emotion and that's what fans do not see Ernesto Cardenal, following a Cardinal that is theoretical.
In his later books like "The intelligence and other scorpion boleros", and "Love reasoned," is seen soon in his verses, what is the role for you in his poetry the conciseness of words?
The brevity in this case is compact, ie, things with less number of words, the less you need more beauty is transmitted. You do in a page what others do in 20, Juan Rulfo accomplished in 200 pages with "Pedro Páramo" which García Márquez does in 400 pages with "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and the latter is very flowery when making a world Rulfo more complex. No need to say everything, but all suggest, as I said Carlos Martinez Rivas. It is the skill, precision, harmony.
Of all his work which is most dear to you?
That's like asking someone to save son in a fire, something that you could say because each one of them I have what I can.
wood Is there good poets in Nicaragua? Who?
In this area one should not rush and be fatalistic, because artists will always exist, not clustered in time. Always good artists will emerge in the dialectic of universal aesthetic, the important thing is to have the opportunity. Rubén Darío had the opportunity to recognize the English language, save that it was a dead language. After Ruben Dario, we have a Carlos Martínez Rivas, Ernesto Mejia Sanchez, a Cardinal, so you have to think of a pyramid: Charles the Great, Sanchez Mejia Cardinal's admirable and good. There have been other good poets, like Beltran Morales, Ana Ilse Gomez, and then I think I read poems Farrach Ninfa, Santiago Molina which I found very good, young poets Eunice Shade, Victor Ruiz, I read other poems of other names that have not ubico, not a lot, do not give one hundred Shakespeares in a century, but 1 / 2. If it would give one hundred none is as tomatoes, in large quantities give '.
What advice can you give to young poets?
Other than a few whiners, who walk not looking to blame for their mediocrity, because not will find to blame for their poor talents, no one is responsible for the talent of a person, to be delivered to work as if it were a religion and Jesus gave his rebel movement, art is like a pagan priesthood.
What do you think is the future of poetry in Nicaragua?
The future of poetry is beauty and what is the future and Nicaragua. Dario says that the first law is to create, and the second and third and so on, beauty is a dialectic.
* Nicaraguan poet. Author of one of the most beautiful poems written in Nicaragua "The office Chaos. " **
Nicaraguan poet. Student Language and Literature at the UNAN-Managua.
These authors are the ones I liked, that I have met, the only requirement is that I have played, I do not care what they say the so-and-such, I do not mind my point of view.
Some say that leaves nothing outside to the imagination, others say the neo-Baroque trends is write in a very made up, and that may tend to obscure surrealism. What does it mean for you as poetry?
is a crucial question in the aesthetic field because poetry does not matter if you are outdoors, surreal, internist, provided there is beauty and well outdoors, surreal and internist, beauty is a dialectic, is inside, is outside flat plane distortion of what is a body, one attains the beauty for talent. The sin of poetry Foreign Office, that sought to eliminate the rest, no opinion poetry of the artist, a photograph black and white, that's not beauty, and art is what is outside and inside. Having a field without interior art is impossible, the best of Ernesto Cardenal does have a base outside but also has an interior support, if you read "zero hour", you feel the emotion, no emotion and that's what fans do not see Ernesto Cardenal, following a Cardinal that is theoretical.
In his later books like "The intelligence and other scorpion boleros", and "Love reasoned," is seen soon in his verses, what is the role for you in his poetry the conciseness of words?
The brevity in this case is compact, ie, things with less number of words, the less you need more beauty is transmitted. You do in a page what others do in 20, Juan Rulfo accomplished in 200 pages with "Pedro Páramo" which García Márquez does in 400 pages with "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and the latter is very flowery when making a world Rulfo more complex. No need to say everything, but all suggest, as I said Carlos Martinez Rivas. It is the skill, precision, harmony.
Of all his work which is most dear to you?
That's like asking someone to save son in a fire, something that you could say because each one of them I have what I can.
wood Is there good poets in Nicaragua? Who?
In this area one should not rush and be fatalistic, because artists will always exist, not clustered in time. Always good artists will emerge in the dialectic of universal aesthetic, the important thing is to have the opportunity. Rubén Darío had the opportunity to recognize the English language, save that it was a dead language. After Ruben Dario, we have a Carlos Martínez Rivas, Ernesto Mejia Sanchez, a Cardinal, so you have to think of a pyramid: Charles the Great, Sanchez Mejia Cardinal's admirable and good. There have been other good poets, like Beltran Morales, Ana Ilse Gomez, and then I think I read poems Farrach Ninfa, Santiago Molina which I found very good, young poets Eunice Shade, Victor Ruiz, I read other poems of other names that have not ubico, not a lot, do not give one hundred Shakespeares in a century, but 1 / 2. If it would give one hundred none is as tomatoes, in large quantities give '.
What advice can you give to young poets?
Other than a few whiners, who walk not looking to blame for their mediocrity, because not will find to blame for their poor talents, no one is responsible for the talent of a person, to be delivered to work as if it were a religion and Jesus gave his rebel movement, art is like a pagan priesthood.
What do you think is the future of poetry in Nicaragua?
The future of poetry is beauty and what is the future and Nicaragua. Dario says that the first law is to create, and the second and third and so on, beauty is a dialectic.
* Nicaraguan poet. Author of one of the most beautiful poems written in Nicaragua "The office Chaos. " **
Nicaraguan poet. Student Language and Literature at the UNAN-Managua.
