Podpor vydanie zbierky básní „ZA SVETLOM ÍSŤ“ a poď s nami za snami!

Kto sme?

Kamila: poetka

„Zvyknem o sebe hovoriť, že som jedna báseň. V mojej hlave sa permanentne odohráva divadlo slov. Mojím najväčším želaním by bolo zachytiť všetky myšlienky ešte predým, než uletia do zabudnutia. Najčastejšie píšem v noci. Potrebujem ticho. Ponorenie sa do seba. Písanie je pre mňa terapia. Zároveň je to však aj hra – s jazykom, s mozgom, objavovanie nekonečných možností, ktoré kreativita ponúka. Vyvoláva vo mne presne tie isté pocity ako hojdačka. Malá Kami, ktorá výska od nadšenia a chce ísť vyššie a vyššie… za svetlom. To som ja. :)“

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Ivana: ilustrátorka

„Snívam s otvorenými očami. Tvorím, kreslím, maľujem. Niekedy viac, niekedy menej, no vždy vtedy, keď potrebujem nájsť stratenú radosť, oddýchnuť si a cítiť sa slobodne, byť v rovnováhe so svetom a so sebou.“

Vopred ďakujeme za akýkoľvek prejav podpory, zdieľanie či milé slovo.

Atmosféru svetla a kreatívneho procesu zachytila Katarína Varga.

Na čo získané peniaze použijeme?

Stanovili sme si dva míľniky:

Keď dosiahneme prvý, budeme môcť dať vytlačiť knihu, zaplatiť grafické práce, kúpiť a potlačiť tričká a tiež vytlačiť grafiky v limitovanej edícii (signované a očíslované). V sume sú tiež zahrnuté náklady na poštovné.

V druhom míľniku by sme rady vyzbierali peniaze pre inkluzívnu školu a škôlku Rozmanita. Je to krásny, zmysluplný a potrebný projekt, vďaka ktorému inklúzia nie je len slovo na papieri. Detičky sa tak môžu rozvíjať v celej svojej rozmanitosti a jedinečnosti, lebo sú videné a prijaté také, aké sú. Na tomto míľniku nám záleží ešte z jedného dôvodu: sme presvedčené, že treba konať dobro. 

Following the light

… in a world so vast…

… trust that the spark will not burn to ashes… that takes courage and sensory thumbs.

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What does the title of the book mean?

Life started to write the story of this book long before I found the courage to share my poems with somebody else than myself. I published the first clumsy creations on Linkedin first in German, later in English, and finally in Slovak. And then it was just flowing. I had two intensive years during which I wrote around 500 poems. It means almost one poem per day. The more I wrote, the more freedom I found in expressing myself. I began playing with the languages, combining them, making up new words. It was a waterfall of ideas.

Once I decided to send some of poems to my mom. I flooded her phone with all possible and impossible messages. She didn’t know I was writing poetry. But I am my mother’s daughter, and I just have a feeling for language. She was so moved that she bought a notebook and wrote all my creations by hand into it. Then she called me to tell me that the book should be called “Za svetlom ísť “. It means “Following the light”. That poem defines you, she told me. It is you, your desire, your dreams, your hope and your joy of life. And so the book had its name.

What are the poems about?

Me, my life. There are all significant events that I went through between 30 and years of age. There are grief and pain, but also joy, love, spark and hope.

The biggest game changer was the car crash I had. I experienced what they call the near death, and it got deeply rooted. I almost ceased to exist. 

Light is the beginning and the end of all being. The time that is given to us suddenly closed its gates. How to deal with it? How to deal with the time that is left for me?

Obviously, it caused lots of changes. I ended my unhappy marriage, changed the address and work and started from scratch.

What has been driving me ahead is my huge, even desperate need for living. So truly. In harmony. It’s a process and it is a winding road with mountains and declines. But I keep on going.

Why do you write?

Writing is like breathing. The moment I stop writing, I will stop breathing. I write, therefore I am.

When I write, I hear music. Words emerge like tones and I just follow them. It’s a beautiful and liberating feeling. At the same time, writing is therapy. It helped me overcome massive grief when every day was the darkest night. When my soul was empty.

So I kept on writing and writing. In all my three languages, in rhymes and free verse. Line by line, the sun came out. Along with the fact that I need a bit of pain and grief to be able to write. At the same time I realized that my poems are my little contribution to making this world a nicer place. They are my way of making life nicer for someone.

How did you start collaborating with Ivana?

I got to know her when we were working for the same language school and teaching at the same company. We would meet between courses for coffee and talk, finding out we had a lot in common. Even our destinies are somehow similar.

We would meet outside of work too and became friends. Iva belongs to people I met and grew fond of during that decade. She entered my life and stayed.

When I made the decision that I would like to have a book, she was the first one I called. I had seen her paintings before and really liked them. Sometime during the summer of 2023 we had a long talk about this project. I selected 30 poems and sent them to her to illustrate. The entire creative process took a lot of time and was a path into our own souls too.

The book contains only a little share of the original selection. I re-wrote, threw away and deleted most of them a million times, struggling with doubt. The illustrations depict what Ivana found between the lines. I think she transformed it into something nice and gentle.

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The book is a dream come true. It is a dream you have, but you aren’t aware of it in the beginning. But it wants to follow the light, you just need to take courage and believe you can make it happen. For me personally, it’s still something overwhelming and marvelous.

„Svet láskavý je k tým, čo svetlá nosia vo svojej duši…“

„The world is kind to those who carry light in their soul…“

I hope the book carries light into your soul.

Kamila

Who are we?

Kamila: poet

„I tend to describe myself as a poem. In my head there is a show of word permanently going on. My biggest wish would be catch all of the ideas before they fly into oblivion. I write mostly at night. I need silence. Diving deep into myself. Writing is a therapy for me. At the same time, it’s a play: with words, own brain, and endless possibilities of creativity. It awakes the same feeling in me as swinging: little Kami shouting of out joy, swinging higher and higher… to catch the light. That’s me. :)“

Ivana: illustrator

„I dream with my eyes open. I create, draw and paint, sometimes a lot, sometimes very little, always when I need to find the joy I lost. When I need to feel free, relax and be in harmony with myself and the world.“

Thank you in advance for any form of support, kind words, or spreading the news about the book into the world.

What will we use the money for?

We have two milestones:

When we reach the first one, we can: have the book printed, pay the graphic designer, buy and have the T-shirts printed, as well as have a limited edition of art work printed (all signed and numbered). The sum also includes postal costs.

The second milestone is raising some money for Rozmanita, which is a kindergarten and a school where inclusion is really lived every day. It’s a wonderful and important project and we would be extremely happy if we could help them out with a donation. We believe that we must do good and be good. And help the ones who try to make a change in this world. Because no matter who we are, we all want to be seen, heard and accepted exactly as we are. Seeing the laughing faces of the kids in Rozmanita, gives us faith that there is light. To create, to spread and to follow.