On the poetic pages of Facebook
By Pilo ZYBA
It has been exactly a month since I opened a window on the internet, on Facebook, under my own name. A window from which I can see where my friends and my compatriots are, and exchange thoughts and creations with them. I do not hide the pleasure this has given me through the circle of friends it has added, but I also think the other problems it has brought into my life, my family, and society are not few. Facebook has already turned into a large table for political, economic, social, artistic, and critical discussions.
So it resembles an international newspaper where each of us expresses our opinion on the problems that trouble us, or the passion we hold, cultivate, and express. This large table, without shape, color, or frame, has begun to enter our daily lives as a necessity, but also as an indisputable part of helping us in communication, thought, or acquaintance. As a necessity to express our feelings, profession, or talent.
For now, if you enter it, it feels like walking into a large warehouse that holds newspapers, tomatoes, apples, physics, literature, garlic, and onions. It is early to express an opinion, but I am anticipating this thought. Every beginning is a bit difficult; later the waters will calm, thoughts will take shape, and the warehouse will be organized.
Let me be clear. Today on Facebook, someone who is not competent gives opinions on literature, someone who is a lab technician gives opinions on painting (I am not talking about the professions themselves); so, in the whirlpool of these opinions, there is no professionalism or specialized thought. But it is still the beginning; this is where someone’s sick passions come in, to show they are a poet when they are not, to be valued as a painter when they are not, or a critic, a psychologist, and so on. Times are evolving at a rapid pace, which is why Facebook too must make its selection in the name of quality, thought, and clear direction. I see with pleasure that good hubs have been created, with a purpose, and intentionally or unintentionally they are now functioning, working, and creating. The time has come to organize the large warehouse I spoke of, and how is it organized? Very simply. We will put all the papers on one shelf and the adzes and trowels on another shelf, the pencils and pens on one shelf and the nails on another. So that the person looking for paper goes to the paper and not the trowel, and the person looking for a pencil goes to the pencil and not the nails. This system has two main goals. One is that the plasterer should not be under the feet of the person writing, and the other is that the person writing letters should not wander under the feet of the person plastering. This is one side of the coin; here is the other. Inside the shelf of papers and writers, a qualitative cleaning must begin. Torn papers must be thrown away, or those that do not serve the general purpose of contributing valuable thoughts. This is a selection in the interest of quality, but also in the interest of the person who has entered this path driven by sick desires rather than by the strength and weight of their talent. This requires a lot of work,
and care. This selection is carried out with art, in silence for one party and through the expression of qualitative and valuable thought for the talented one. I am expressing my opinion on the literary page where I have been taking part lately, where I offer creations and receive opinions. I see with pleasure that a good foundation has been created in the window of literature to elevate the poetic song into art,
and I can gladly add that a beautiful and precise chain of creation from all Albanian territories has been formed on its page. This also shows the promise of good work in the future. For example, on this literary page I read well-known writers and poets like Janaq Pani, Kadri Rodakoshi, Skënder Hasko, Vasil Tabaku, Lumo Kalleshi, Adem Berisha, Vullnet Mato, Fatime Kulli, Preng Buzhala, etc. After the first constellation come their followers, both in age and in creativity, such as Monda Mojsiu, Demir Gjergji, Suzana Kuqi, Riza Çato, Enertin Dheskali, etc. Then comes the youngest group, or the newest talents as we are used to calling them, who show promise on the path of literature, such as Besiana Avdyli, Evah Haliti, Eriola Isaraj, Alketa Delishaj, Keti Agaj, Natyra Kuçi, Ivana Dervishi, etc.
This entire constellation is accompanied by the intellectual thought of Valentina Prifti, Shqiponja Frashri, Irisi Myftiu, Shqiponja Duro, Feçor Shkurti, etc. These are joined by the participation of journalists Vera Pelaj, Nikoleta Kovaçi, Doriana Metollari, Sonila Laci, and finally by a series of newspapers such as Tirana Observer, Fjala e Lirë, Albemigrant, Poetik Forum, etc., and Gazeta e Athinës. Or with very young talents in presentation or broadcasting, led by Elisa Gjerni from Elbasan. Forgive me, as there are many who participate and I cannot mention them all. So, if we look closely, despite the fact that no one has taken an interest in such an organization, today it functions; it is a fact. But the struggle and the efforts begin here, and that is the struggle for quality.
The mother state is also to blame here, having broken all the links of culture, such as magazines and newspapers; I am speaking mostly about children and young people, who also make up the majority on Facebook.
For our nation, which is divided into four states but speaks only one language, the mother tongue, the internet is the table where thoughts are debated, experience is gained, and organizations are formed. On the screen of this window, I had the opportunity to see myself and my friends further, deeper, and more clearly. This screen brought Kosovo, the Albanians of Montenegro and Macedonia, and all my compatriots within the borders or outside them, right to the table of my home.
The internet window is today for our nation not only the table of unity, but the page where we must show our history, culture, song, and language. I, who am writing this, have lived outside our lands for 20 years, and I see with regret that the mother state does nothing for us—not for me, but for the children of immigrants who are assimilating in the country where they live, work, and study. What difficulty would there be in opening a page for teaching the language? I will tell you: “None.” But our politicians deal with “big” problems and have no time for “small” things that actually create big problems. They do not understand how heavy it is for the nation when you live in Greece, when you learn their language and history while abandoning your mother tongue. Then history is written however anyone pleases, and they overturn it every time generations change. I will leave this topic, as it requires another, more specialized and direct piece of writing.
As for the window of art on Facebook, I see qualitative growth, but also mistakes that eat up our time, damage us qualitatively, and make us chase after that which gives us neither “bread” nor “water,” but harms us on the path to climbing the stairs of true art. Looking at them carefully, I notice that alongside the good work, many problems appear on the scene.
To have true and valuable art, the two pillars that develop it must be developed simultaneously: creativity on one hand, and criticism on the other. But in our case, there is only talk of production, of creation, and the other pillar, criticism, does not exist—not to mention that the two have merged into one, and it is even worse when criticism does the job of a house painter on a literary work. For this, critical and theoretical writings are also needed to help and guide creators.
I see with regret that there is a rush after quantity. I happen to read five or six poems by the same author every evening. This is the mania of showing off, to appear as much as possible before others; its quantity does not constitute quality, nor does it increase the author's values—on the contrary, it lowers them. As a result of this, the other things below also arise. Unable to read them all, the majority of readers leave the familiar sign, a clenched fist with a raised thumb, which is not even in the Albanian tradition. The replies are often vulgar and suffer from rickets, from an inability to analyze, or from a “bravo,” “beautiful,” or “well done.” These expressions are neither artistic nor expressions that show true values. At the end of the evening, the poet gathers a sack of well-dones, bravos, etc., and feels that he has created something. This method is much ado about nothing. Or the other side of the coin, that of the author's reply after every congratulation: he replies, thank you, I wish you well, greetings, etc.
When we speak even of a single poem, we must analyze its values; otherwise, it is better not to dip the pen of thought and blacken the white page of the computer, because at the same time we blacken our own face. Furthermore, the familiar method of exchanging thanks: you thanked me, I thanked you. Who does this serve? Does this kind of exchange have any value?
As everywhere else, in the window of Facebook, the youth are the ones who carry the main weight. As for poetic art, since that is the purpose of this piece, it has its pros and cons. Seeking at all costs (and rightly so) to express their talent, driven by the desire to present themselves before others, a mistake is made that costs even them. The poetry or prose posted often resembles a shapeless and clueless poetic dough, a mishmash of all colors and expressions. For it to acquire its values, it must absolutely be pruned, hoed deep in thought and message, worked on stylistically and syntactically, and then presented for others to enjoy. This and other things like it have brought about a confusion of the reader in the book market. In bookstores, no one looks for poetry, or even prose. At the 2009 book fair, out of dozens of published poetry books, you could not find a single one, except for those by famous foreign poets. The reader is not a specialist in poetic values; he picks up one book, two, does not like them, and from that minute he walks away from it to deal with something else. For the reader to draw near and knock on the door of creativity, we must increase the values and variety, and enrich the written language. I know, “Hold on,” someone will say, “we are on a web page!” Yes, gentlemen, on a page, and for the page our nation has a proverb: “May your page be white,” “You whitened our page,” etc. And for the proverb to take hold, we must think deeply when we serve our thoughts to others, for many reasons. First of all, to whiten our own page, to take a place on the white page of art, and to whiten the page of the nation with what we say and express.
