An Exclusive Interview of Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić 𝒃𝒚 Maja Milojković
Dr. Maja Herman
Sekulić
— The Legendary
Talks – 4
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
To read all posts of Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić, Please click here
To read all posts of Maja Milojković, Please click here
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. Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić 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. She 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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
v
Please visit the Face Book, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Linkedin to follow us on these social media networks — by clicking the relevant icon — to see (and to share with others by you) that how we are promoting and making efforts to give a worldwide reach to the best pieces of fiction and poetry, and other things like APPRAISE of the published elegant works in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 ᒪIᑎGO ᒪE᙭IᑕOᑎ and views of the legendries of various languages as THE LEGENDARY TALKS through interviews by the expert interviewers. We also welcome your (the contributors’) and the readers’ precious, prestigious and valuable comments in the Comments Section given at the bottom of this page.
Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić
— The Legendary Talks – 4
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
To read all posts of Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić, Please click here
To read all posts of Maja Milojković, Please click here
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. Dr. Maja Herman Sekulić 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. She 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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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!
v
Please visit the Face Book, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Linkedin to follow us on these social media networks — by clicking the relevant icon — to see (and to share with others by you) that how we are promoting and making efforts to give a worldwide reach to the best pieces of fiction and poetry, and other things like APPRAISE of the published elegant works in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 ᒪIᑎGO ᒪE᙭IᑕOᑎ and views of the legendries of various languages as THE LEGENDARY TALKS through interviews by the expert interviewers. We also welcome your (the contributors’) and the readers’ precious, prestigious and valuable comments in the Comments Section given at the bottom of this page.
Author
