THE LEGENDARY TALKS
—The Legendary Talks:4
An Exclusive Interview with
Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić
by Maja Milojković
Above all, I see myself as a poet. Even when writing artistic prose or
fiction, my prose nurtures a poetic rhythm within the sentence.
— Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić
On February 17, 2025 I interviewed the most
awarded Serbian writer in the world and a candidate for the Nobel Prize in
Literature 2025 from Serbia, the esteemed author Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić. Her
thoughts and words illuminate the essence of literary creation and its role in
today’s world.
Born on February 17, 1949 in Belgrade,
Serbia, Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić is an internationally published poet, novelist,
essayist and translator. She is author of 11 books. She received her M.A. in
World Literature from the University of Belgrade in 1977, and her PhD
in Comparative Literature from Princeton, New Jersey, in 1986. She is
a member of the Serbian Literary Association, Serbian Literary
Society, Serbian and the American P.E.N. Center, Academy of
American Poets and the International Federation of Journalists. She
taught at Princeton University from 1985 to 1989, and Rutgers
University from 1982 to 1984, and was guest-lecturer
at Harvard, Columbia, Iowa, and other universities. Besides
academic work, she has also edited the journal Night in New York from
1989 to 1990.
Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić is a regular
contributor to Recours au Poème, Belgrade dailies Politika and
Blic, “Cultural Journal” on Serbian TV (RTS) and other media and
literary journals. In 2017, she signed the Declaration on the Common
Language of the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins.
Her works have been translated into a number of foreign languages. In 2013 and
2012, a number of her poems were published bilingually in English and French
in Recours au Poeme, Paris. She started publishing poetry since
1981, first in Knjizevne novine, literary magazine, and then in other
distinguished journals and anthologies. Her poems’ English translations were
published in the prominent American periodicals like The Paris Review
(translated by Mark Strand, American Poet Laureate), Confrontation, North
Dakota Quarterly, The Printed Matter, Tokyo; in German,
anthology Das Buch der Rånder Lyrik, Wieser Verlag;
bilingual selections in French and English at Recours au Poeme,
Paris.
Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić has published six
poetry sollections:
Kamerografija (Camerography)
– 1990, Kartografija (Cartography) – 1992, Iz muzeja lutanja (Out
of the Museum of Wondering) – 1997, Iz puste zemlje (Out of the
Waste Land) Paideia – 1998 (a bilingual English & Serbian edition), her
e-book of selected and new poems selected by the French poet Matthieu
Baumier De La Terre de Désolation (Out of the Wasteland),
French translation by Elizabeth Brunazzi – 2015, and Lady of Vincha (Gospa
od Vinče), poem, izdavač Pešić i sinovi – 2017.
Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić has published
three novels: Kralj svile – 2000, 2001 (Maya Herman, “In Search of the
Silk King”, a novel, Xlibris – 2005, U potrazi za Lolitom (Looking
for Lolita) – 2011 (New, changed “female” edition of the novel Slike kojih
nema), and Ma Belle, prva americka dama Srbije – 2015. She has also published books of essays: Skice za portrete (Sketches for
Portraits) — collection of essays and
conversations with colleagues and friends, American and international authors
ranging from Joseph Brodsky to Bret Easton Ellis, Knjizevnost
prestupa (Literature of Transgression)
— First published in English as a
series of essays in James Joyce Quarterly and European
Studies Journal, then as doctoral dissertation (The Fall of Hyperbaton:
Parodic and Revisionary Strategies in Bely, Joyce, and Mann,…), A book of
travel essays about travels through Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma: Prozor
u žadu, Prosveta 1994 (published in English under pen name Maya Herman in
1998) , a book of micro essays about the transition of our world from print to
digital media: Digitalna galaksija (Digital Galaxy) – 2011, and Zavod
za udzbenike (Who was Nikola Tesla? The Genius who gave us Light) – 2015.
Besides the books for adults, Dr. Maja
Herman Sekulić has also published a book for children Slon Lala
Tulipan, ili kako je otkriven porcelan and a poem for children in
English Lazar, the Lizard in a Blizzard – 2000.
Maja Milojković
Editor, AREA FELIX,
Belgrade, Serbia.
….
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
Being
nominated for the Nobel Prize is an exceptional honor. How did you experience
this nomination, and what does it mean to you as a writer and intellectual?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
The
chances are slim, but the honor is immense — the greatest! I have no illusions
that this could happen on the first attempt. I remember that Kipling, for
example, was nominated 21 times, and as for our writers, we do not know how
many times Andrić or Krleža were nominated! Or Kiš?
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
Your
academic journey is impressive — you are the first Serbian woman to earn a PhD
from Princeton. How has this experience shaped your literary and translation
work?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
I
also have two master’s degrees, which is equivalent to another full doctorate,
and I have now received an honorary doctorate from Mexico as well. I was
engaged in translation before and during my studies, and I devoted a full
decade to literary theory while writing my doctorate and teaching at the world’s
top universities. I believe that translation is perhaps the best school of
creative writing.
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
Your
role as Vice President of the International Academy of Ethics in India and as a
cultural ambassador under UNESCO speaks to your global influence. How do you
see the responsibility of artists in promoting ethics and culture?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
That is perhaps the greatest responsibility of artists, especially today, in the era of internet and now at the dawn of artificial intelligence, where ethical norms are not yet fully defined!
Our Academy aims to introduce ethics as a subject in schools, and we have already made some progress. Recently, I chaired a two-day international conference in Pune, which is considered the Oxford of India. The response was enormous, and the conference was very successful.
That is perhaps the greatest responsibility of artists, especially today, in the era of internet and now at the dawn of artificial intelligence, where ethical norms are not yet fully defined!
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
Your books and studies are part of university curricula worldwide. Is it important to you that your works have academic relevance, or do you strive more for artistic freedom?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
That depends on the genre. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.
I have artistic freedom when writing poetry and fiction, but I am academically responsible when writing essays on literary theory!
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
Your poetry is globally recognized, and you hold the title of a “Global Icon of Poetry.” What does poetry mean to you, and how do you see its role in today’s world?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
Above all, I see myself as a poet. Even when writing artistic prose or fiction, my prose nurtures a poetic rhythm within the sentence. Poetry is the highest reflection of language and inner spirituality, and as such, it should illuminate our path — but without being overtly didactic, for then it becomes prose, and there are already too many such attempts, especially among so-called Facebook poets.
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
What have been the most inspiring moments in your career, whether through encounters with great literary figures or through the recognition you have received?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
I have had and continue to have a very rich life — I was surrounded by great names from an early age.
My father and grandfather are historical figures, and perhaps that is why I do not recognize authority, and perhaps that is also why I engage as an equal conversational partner with the world’s greatest figures, who also accept me as their equal.
Facebook, for instance, has brought us an overproduction of so-called poetry that is not really poetry but has also connected us to the poets from every nook on the planet!
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
Your
novel about famous Serbo-Italian artist “Nine Lives of Milena Pavlović Barilli”
is soon to be released in its second Italian edition and adapted into a film.
How did you approach Milena’s character, and what fascinated you most about her
story?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
Not
the second, but the third edition in Italy in a short time, and it was also
declared the “Best Foreign Novel” there in 2022. I was particularly fascinated
by a deep, intuitive connection I felt with Milena Pavlović Barilli, and later,
during my research for my novel, I discovered numerous biographical parallels
between us. For example, my grandfather, also a famous painter, studied at the
same Academy in Munich and then fled to Paris, or I moved to the same corner of
the same street where she lived in New York City before I was invited to write
about her! There are no chances, no coincidences, just some parallels and
synchronicities!
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
In
your collection of essays and interviews “Sketches for Portraits”, you reflect
on encounters with greats like Frye, Bloom, and Brodsky. Which conversation or
meeting left the strongest impression on you, and why?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
These were not mere encounters but years-long friendships, collaborations, and even loves. I wrote my master’s thesis on Frye and was the first to translate him into Serbian, and he included our conversation in his Collected Works.
I corresponded with Bloom while translating him, and later, American Poet Laureate Mark Strand introduced us. We became so close that Bloom called me his spiritual daughter. With Brodsky, I shared an almost familial closeness and an intense recognition on his part. All of this is compiled in my book “Sketches for Portraits”, which has now reached its fourth edition.
Building bridges and understanding through culture should be our higher goal! As for writing, read as much as possible, and before publishing anything, let it rest for a while to gain critical distance from your own work — that is the most important thing!
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
How do you perceive today’s literary scene in Serbia and the world? Is there an author or movement you find particularly significant in contemporary literature?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
I do not follow it closely, but there is always both good and bad literature. Facebook, for instance, has brought us an overproduction of so-called poetry that is not really poetry but has also connected us to the poets from every nook on the planet!
MAJA MILOJKOVIĆ
Your work serves as a bridge between cultures, languages, and artistic disciplines. If you could leave one message for future generations of artists and writers, what would it be?
DR. MAJA HERMAN SEKULIĆ
Yes, I have been building bridges for over 30 years and have been a multiple ambassador of poetry, culture, and goodwill worldwide. Building bridges and understanding through culture should be our higher goal! As for writing, read as much as possible, and before publishing anything, let it rest for a while to gain critical distance from your own work — that is the most important thing!
::::
Maja Milojković
Born in 1975 in Zaječar, She lived in Bor, Serbia and currently she lives between Serbia and Denmark. She holds an accolade of internationally recognized poet who advocates for peace in the world. In Serbia, she is the deputy editor at “Sfairos” printing house in Belgrade, Serbia. She is the vice-president of the association “Rtanj and Mesečev peski krug”. Maja Milojković is a person whose blood has been running from Leonardo da Vinci’s statement “Painting is poetry that can be seen, and poetry is a picture that can be heard.” She is a painter and reviewer.
As a poet, Maja Milojković is represented in numerous domestic and foreign literary newspapers, anthologies and electronic media, and some of her songs are also available on YouTube. She is the winner of many international awards. She is an activist of many associations and organizations, for peace in the world, against violence against animals, racism, etc. Maja Milojković is the author of 2 books: “The Circle of the Moon”- 2019 and “Trees of Desire”- 2023. Her poems have been translated into English, Hungarian, Bengali, Urdu, Pashto, Hindi and Bulgarian.
Maja Milojković is a member of the poetry club “Area Felix” from Zaječar, Serbia, and a member of the literary club “Zlatno pero” from Knjaževac, Serbia. She is also a member of the International Association of Writers and Artists “Gorski vidici” (“Mountain Views”) from Podgorica, Montenegro and other international organizations.
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