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Kresnik Laureate: Reality Caught Best When Story Touches Insanity

4. julij 2012 | Objavljeno v Interview

Ljubljana, 4. July (STA) Reality is caught best in the moment when the story eludes logic and touches insanity. This sheds light on what we perceive as normal, writer Andrej E. Skubic said in an interview with the STA, commenting on the elements of fantasy in his latest novel, which won him this years Kresnik Prize, the top literary honour in Slovenia. Despite his characteristic down-to-earth style, Skubic notes he has been manoeuvring since his first novel for which he got the first of his two Kresnik Prizes in 2000 on the thin line between the known, understandable and the world of dreams with its own logic, which however still reflects ones passions, obsessions and perversions. Even in everyday life it is hard to define a clear distinction between what we find normal or real and some bizarre, grotesque and purely symbolic distortion, he notes, adding that todays reality was fantastic enough to see that anything is possible. Commenting on the use of colloquial language in his award-winning Koliko si moja? (Are You Mine?) and his previous works, Skubic, who does not like being labelled an urban author, says he aims to encompass the world of his characters with all the profanity or depth of thoughts and their ways of expression, urban or not. It may be interesting to do an epic story of todays yuppies, transition-era politicians or broke pensioners in heroic decasyllable, he adds. However, he believes it is time to use direct language that surrounds us, as this is the language in which we are being manipulated with. This language needs to be undermined and shown from all sides, he stressed. As a sociolinguist, Skubic does not find it very relevant that the Kresnik Prize has recently often been awarded for novels in colloquial language, as each literary piece works on its subject using the language that is most effective for doing so, and this has nothing to do with the quality of literature. Nevertheless, he does find it good that the literary cannon has opened up to voices that were unheard even ten years ago. Quality books are not sold in large quantities, Skubic says, commenting on the small print runs of his books, as the 500 copies in the first issue of his latest novel have been sold out and only 200 copies are planed in the upcoming reprint. He does not wish to speculate whether this is the result of book prices, the fast way of life, demagogic stupification, the lowering of the standard of the middle class or the changing mental image of the middle class, but he stressed this certainly had nothing to do with the quality of writing being lower. Moreover, Skubic says he is worried by the ruling political elite actively and aggressively promoting antiintellectualism and hatred towards culture, presenting it as a parasite and class enemy, pushing the creative sector into some sort of underground. Culture is being banished to the level of afternoon amateurism and cheap entertainment, he expresses his worries, noting that while even under communist rule books were untouchable, now the rulers believe that what is being mocked need not be feared. Skubic, also an acclaimed translator, says that when he had the rare luxury of getting to pick authors to translate, he would always go for the challenging ones, as translating the likes of James Kelman, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce or Ken Saro Wiwa is a joy, pleasure, brain food and linguistic food. Translation is always a sort of dialogue between the author and the translator, who is trying to repeat the authors lesson as he or she hears it, he says, noting that the latter was also the translators only legitimate authorial contribution.

However, he fears these quality dialogues will be ever scarcer, as they need to make way for 10,000 copies of the new Dan Brown novel, which will be read on the beach and will chip in more VAT for the state. Otherwise the minister of culture and fruit could not justify his position.
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2012 Misli slovensko Projekt Misli Slovensko sofinancira Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije.