A conversation with Anna Pejchinova about the poetic recitations of Rumi and Kipling: The key is in the truth, and the lock is the heart

Anna Pejchinova with "Selection of Songs" by Rudyard Kipling / Photo: Natasha Atanasova

In the field of translation, the poet Ana Pejcinova deals with works that are close to her spirit and sensibility, and that is why we find her name in poems by Rumi and Kipling sung in the Macedonian language.

The Society of Writers of Macedonia marked 817 years since the birth of the great man of classical Persian poetry with a poetry reading entitled "Evening with Rumi". Rumi is a poet of love mysticism, and today he is one of the most read and quoted poets in the world. Few people in our country sang his work in the Macedonian language, and among the few is the poetess Ana Pejchinova.

An evening dedicated to Rumi was held at DPM. What a challenge or what a pleasure it was to cover his songs?

- We celebrated the birthday of the great Rumi with a public event together with our colleague Tihomir Janchovski, organized by the Writers' Association of Macedonia (DPM). The hall was full, and the faces were smiling. When one speaks with love about the holy madness of loving, flight, tenderness, passion and laughter overflow. We had a great audience, especially in the "open mic" section.

I started singing Rumi about twenty years ago, back when there were live blog platforms in Macedonia. My blog was originally dedicated to Rumi. Re-singing went with unexpected ease: there is something in the spirit of his poetry, in the linguistic metaphors and imagery of the songs that was close to me personally and to the Macedonian language. It was ravishing to sing this poet of love rapture.

In 2010 I completed the rendition of the e-book The Jewel in the Water, which included an extensive study of Rumi, with biography, historical and cultural context, as well as Sufism, spiritual practices, issues of the sacred, sexuality, drunkenness, etc. Part of this poem was included in "Classical Persian Poetry" (2015), in the "Stars of World Literature" edition, a book for which I also wrote an afterword on Persia.

"Evening with Rumi" at DPM - Zivko Grozdanoski, Ana Pejchinova and Tihomir Janchovski / Photography: Andrej Mitevski

Rumi's poetry spans centuries. What is the key to its survival and rereading until today?

- The key is in the truth, and the lock is the heart. Rumi's poetry is primarily spiritual. It focuses on the immediate truths of the heart and spirit that this mystical poet expresses so eloquently and simply. On the other hand, the lock into which this key enters are general human themes – pains, fears, longings, joys and sorrows that touch us today just as they touched people many centuries ago and under other climates.

The foundation of true art is to endure through time. What spirituality do you recognize in our time?

- Spirituality and art are not the same categories. Sometimes they overlap, as with Rumi, but there is spirituality without artistic creation, and art without conscious spirituality. Both, to endure as value through time, must originate from and address that timeless core of unity within us, in which spirit, sensation, thought, heart, body, and deed are undivided.

Spirituality exists today and here, but the question is how much we recognize it. True spirituality has never been of a public or popular character, nor has it been of great interest to the majority. Like art, spirituality requires personal sacrifice. Among those sacrifices are the desires for recognition, popularity, power and financial security.

To find the kernels of spirituality, we must patiently search for the works of often invisible individuals who do not long to be found. So it is with great artists: we know them by their works, not by their popularity. They present their works to an imaginary, invisible audience, with the faith that someone will recognize the works, while they themselves often stand aside from the noise of the crowd, from current affairs and laurels.

And today, as in the past, there are few true spiritualists and creators, seekers of truth and deeper reality. In both worlds there are a lot of superficial "tourists", and there is also a lot of hypocrisy and opportunism. However, the majority of people are not interested in either art or spirituality. And that's okay - everyone has their own path, their own choices and consequences. There is also goodness and beauty among us, which belongs neither to art nor to spirituality.

In the field of translation activity, your rendition of poems by Rudyard Kipling recently appeared in the "Police" edition. With what motive and criteria did you choose the songs?

– My first song and inspiration was the famous song "If" by Kipling, and later his songs and ballads about the East. He was captivated by the exceptional destinies and stories from these exotic climates, which touched me personally. These are countries in which I have lived and traveled for years, and Kipling's protagonists are from tribes and peoples with whom I have sometimes met. Reading the ballads of this author, I could clearly smell the smells, see the landscapes, hear the sounds and chatter woven into the poems. The closeness of the experiences made the singing job more faithful and dear to me.

Rudyard Kipling is a real (re)discovery today: constantly surprising, both thematically and conceptually. He is a master of poetry, with a sense for a good story, lively characters, mild or brutal humor, mournful and brave and bright, full of heart even in the noblest and darkest works.

Kipling has a huge oeuvre. When choosing what to sing, I assessed whether the song is still relevant today from some historical or artistic aspect. It was also crucial how well the chorus "laid down" in Macedonian. It was not an easy rendition, it took several years, because almost all the songs are in solid rhythm and in rhyme. But I thoroughly enjoyed the work: it was my own venture, out of enthusiasm, without the pressure of deadlines, ambitions, publishers or expectations of any reward. I am glad that the printed book is selling, and the e-book has already recorded 130 downloads in the last seven months, which means that the poetry is being read.

"Evening with Rumi" in DPM - Tihomir Janchovski and Ana Pejchinova / Photography: Andrej Mitevski

How important is the spiritual maturity of the singer in the transmission of the poetry of a certain author in the Macedonian language?

– The chanter's inclination towards spirituality seems necessary to successfully undertake the chanting of spiritual poetry. I don't know if I'm "spiritually mature" enough to sing Rumi, but I sang it out of love, with sincere passion, and that's enough justification for me!

Spiritual maturity is neither easy to define nor determine. There is no objective measure of maturity other than personal integrity: whether what a person does (deeds, words) is in line with what he sincerely feels and believes. Maturity is a roadmap, not a destination. In the end, no one is fully spiritually mature, and we all walk that path, willingly or not, with or without awareness that we are on a spiritual path. True inner knowing brings a sense of meekness, of perfect-imperfect smallness in the midst of infinite beauty. I was immersed in this ecstatic feeling while chanting Rumi. I hope that the readers also feel this way while reading Rumi in the Macedonian language.

(The interview was published in "Cultural Press" number 250, in the printed edition of the newspaper "Sloboden Pechat" on 5-6.10.2024)

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