Shamsiya Khudoynazarova Turumovna (February 15, 1973) was born in Uzbekistan. Studied at the Faculty of Journalism of Tashkent State University (1992-1998). She took first place in the competition of young republican poets (1999). Four collections of poems have been published in Uzbekistan: “Leaf of the Heart” (1998), “Roads to You” (1998), “The Sky in My Chest” (2007), “Lovely Melodies” (2013). She wrote poetry in more than ten genres. She translated some Russian and Turkish poets into Uzbek, as well as a book by Yunus Emro. She lived as a political immigrant with her family for five years in Turkey.
Biljana Letić from Australia, Balkan Beats on Zed Digital.
Balkan Beats and
Radio 4ZZZ 102.1FM & Zed Digital Australia.
An interview with me has been published in the magazine Rasejanje.info.
INTERVIEW
Maja Milojković – “Poetry, a deeply personal expression that comes from the soul like a melody.”
Maja Milojković carries a handful of creative hats in her artistic suitcase. First and foremost, she is one of the founders of the poetry club Area Felix, editor of the international magazine for creative literature and culture Area Felix, deputy editor-in-chief of the publishing house Sfaros in Belgrade, and also the founder and vice president of the association Rtanj and the Moon’s Poetic Circle. Exclusively for the readers of the media portal Rasejanje.info, Biljana Letić shares a story about the achievements of the versatile artist Maja Milojković, told from the perspective of a writer, author, and poet. Biljana Letić is a native of Belgrade who has been living in Brisbane, Australia for almost three decades.
The multi-talented author and artist Maja Milojković, originally from Zaječar, Serbia, has a rich background in the specific creative field she is devoted to. She is passionate about many artistic directions, which she refers to as her “four aces”—poetry, painting, singing, and dance. This interview focuses on poetry, books, and the series of honorary awards Maja Milojković received in 2024. Maja’s artistic journey and her golden path to fame are covered in this story, along with two of her poems, “Follow Me” and “The End and the Beginning.”
Biljana Letić: How would you describe to the readers – who is Maja Milojković?
Maja Milojković: Maja is an Aryan name that means illusion or that which is not in Sanskrit, so my name carries a symbolic meaning.
Two in one – my SELF, which does not like to be in the spotlight, and Maja, who is extroverted. I enjoy solitude, while Maja loves fame. And so it goes endlessly – a dual nature that allows me to play with everything I’m not and to enjoy, unburdened, all that comes from this world. My vivid imagination is reflected in me as a versatile artistic being.
Poetry, painting, singing, and dancing are my four “aces,” and I believe they are gifts from God. That doesn’t mean I’m the best, but rather that these paths are the best means for expressing my soul. You are given life and talents—they are instruments through which you act, conveying a message you discover within yourself. That message must always be one that awakens optimism in people, inspires them toward self-realization, and transforms them for the better.
Last year, I became a promoter for the music label FORTUNA DENMARK, which creates fantastic hits. They recorded my song Egyptian Night, for which I also have a music video in which I sing.
Biljana Letić: Let’s start with the books you’ve published. Can you list all the books and awards you’ve received so far?
Maja Milojković: I’ve published two poetry collections: “The Moon’s Circle”, published by Sven from Niš, and “The Wishing Trees”, published by Sfairos from Belgrade. My third collection, “Be Like a Paper Kite”, is currently in preparation and will also be published by Sfairos.
Together with Dr. Milan Mladenović, I co-edited the international anthology “Rhymes from Rtanj” for 2024, published by Sfairos in Belgrade.
I’m represented in around 40 domestic and international anthologies. Also, this year I was invited by Dr. Brajesh Gupta Mevadev from India to be one of several editors on an international anthology from India. In addition, I worked on stylistic editing for two novels by Croatian writer Vladimir Pavić.
In 2024, I’d like to highlight the book “Hyperpoem”, an international anthology edited by Alexander Kobishev from Russia. It is the longest poem in the world and has been included in the Guinness Book of Records. I contributed a quatrain to it. This anthology gained international popularity and was presented at the book fair in Munich this year. It is also available for purchase on Amazon.
I have had a long-standing collaboration with the esteemed writer Agron Shele from Belgium, participating every year in the international anthologies he edits. A copy of each book is sent to the Royal Library of the Netherlands.
I’ve also collaborated for many years with Abdallah Gassmi from Tunisia. Every year, I participate in anthologies he edits, and last year I was invited as an honorary guest, along with several other poets, in Tunisia.
Six years ago, I joined leading global movements for peace, animal protection, anti-racism, and similar causes. As an activist, I have received a large number of awards from many countries. Here’s a small portion of the awards I received in 2024, among them:
• The Literature Award from the Academy of Ethics in India, awarded by the Academy’s President, Dr. Jernail S. Anand. This is, in fact, the highest recognition I received in 2024. Only three of these diplomas were awarded in Serbia: to Vice President Maja Herman Sekulić, the President of Matica Srpska, Dr. Dragan Stanić and myself.
• An award from Dr. Arch. Franca Colozzo from Italy, on behalf of GPLT for sustainability and climate change. She is a prominent figure in leading global organizations.
• Awards from “RINASCIMENTO – RENAISSANCE MILLENNIUM III,” presented to me by Prof. George Onsy, founder and president of RRM3 from Cairo, Egypt.
• An award from Nobel Prize nominee Abdulgani Yahya Al-Ebarh Din of Yemen for contributions to world peace.
• The “Golden Bridge” award from writer Rahim Karim Karimov from Kyrgyzstan.
This year, I also wrote reviews for internationally recognized authors, including Jernail S. Anand, Hela Tekali from Tunisia, and Aleksei Kalakutin from Russia.
I write for magazines from various countries. I’d like to highlight the regular publication of my poems in magazines such as:
– Synchronized Chaos from California
– Atunis Poetry from Belgium
– Polis Magazino from Greece
– and many others.
Collaboration with seven magazines around the world has earned me great respect from colleagues and recognition in many countries. I gladly accept invitations for cooperation because I believe in the power of international connection through art.
Biljana Letić: Where do you get your inspiration for writing poetry?
Maja Milojković: I find inspiration in prayer, in people, in life itself, and of course, in the desire for what I write to reach the human heart.
Biljana Letić: You’re inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s quote: “Painting is poetry that can be seen, and poetry is painting that can be heard.” How do you experience that – as expressing poetry from the soul in your own way, or as an artistic ‘painting’ of poetry that is heard?
Maja Milojković: For me, it’s both. I express the poetry of my soul in my own way, and at the same time, I paint it artistically through words so that it can be heard – felt – with the heart. That’s the magic of poetry: it transcends visual and auditory boundaries, becoming an emotion, a message, a presence.
Biljana Letić: When did you realize that poetry was your way of artistic expression? What are the most common messages you convey through your verses?
Maja Milojković: I wrote my first poem on November 20, 1993, the day before our family’s patron saint day (krsna slava), dedicated to Archangel Michael, which we celebrate on November 21.
Since 1997, I began writing actively, and the central themes of my work are love, spirituality, inner transformation, the transience of time, and reflections on life and death.
Biljana Letić: The association Rtanj and the Moon’s Poetic Circle is something you founded. What can you tell us about it?
Maja Milojković: It was my wish to gather poets from Zaječar for the first time, coming from Area Felix, the only co-ed poetry club, of which I am one of three founders. In 2018, we went to Rtanj at the invitation of Dr. Milan Mladenović and his wife, Sve Marija Romanova. At that moment, I decided to appoint my influential and dear friend as the president of the association.
It later became a tradition to gather at the Sokolski dom (Milandar) under Mt. Rtanj, hosted by our beloved friends. Last year, we edited an international poetry anthology with the influential Doctor of Philosophy, Pra Milan of Luzice. I brought together 116 authors from all continents, many of whom are my Facebook friends. The anthology was printed under the title “Rtanj Verses” by the first publishing house from Serbia, Sfairos, founded by Dr. Milan Mladenović.
Biljana Letić: How can readers find you on social media?
Maja Milojković: I’m active on Facebook, and I have a website under the name Area Feliks. I’m also the editor of the international magazine for creative literature and culture Area Felix.
Additionally, I’m the founder and vice president of the association Rtanj and the Moon’s Poetic Circle and the founder of the Facebook group of the same name, which currently has 800 members.
You can also find me on Instagram, or contact me via email at: areafelix019@gmail.com
Interview conducted by Biljana Letić from Australia for the portal Rasejanje.info
Maja Milojković was born in 1975 in Zaječar, Serbia. She is a person to whom from an early age, Leonardo da Vinci’s statement “Painting is poetry that can be seen, and poetry is painting that can be heard” is circulating through the blood. That’s why she started to use feathers and a brush and began to reveal the world and herself to them. As a poet, she is represented in numerous domestic and foreign literary newspapers, anthologies and electronic media, and some of her poems can be found on YouTube. Many of her poems have been translated into English, Hungarian, Bengali and Bulgarian due to the need of foreign readers. She is the recipient of many international awards. “Trees of Desire” is her second collection of poems in preparation, which is preceded by the book of poems “Moon Circle”. She is a member of the International Society of Writers and Artists “Mountain Views” in Montenegro, and she also is a member of the Poetry club “Area Felix” in Serbia.
Nigar Nurulla Khalilova is a poet, novelist, translator from Azerbaijan, Baku city, currently in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She is a member of Azerbaijan Writers Union. Nigar N. Khalilova graduated from Azerbaijan Medical university, holds a Ph.D degree. She has been published in the books, literary magazines, anthologies and newspapers in Azerbaijan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, USA over the years. Nigar N. Khalilova participated in poetry festivals and was published in the international poetry festivals anthologies. Conducted data in the Austin International Poetry Festival (AIPF), 2016-2017.
The heart, a scratched record repeating the same melancholic song,
a melody of regrets and missed opportunities.
Its needle, stuck in the past, prevents a new song from playing.
Hope, a small plant in a cracked pot,
struggling to survive in arid soil.
Its roots, weak and thirsty,
desperately search for a little water in the dry earth.
Life, an incomplete puzzle,
with missing pieces we’ll never find.
Its scattered fragments, disjointed memories,
prevent us from seeing the whole picture.
Silence, a heavy marble slab that weighs on the chest,
preventing emotions from flowing freely.
Its relentless cold envelops us in a profound loneliness…
GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE is a writer and poet from Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Rios) Argentina, based in Buenos Aires She graduated in letters and is the author of seven books of poetry, awarded several times worldwide. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Projects of the Hispanic World Union of Writers and is the UHE World Honorary President of the same institution Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. She is the Commissioner of Honor in the executive cabinet IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS DIVISION, of the UNACCC SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA CHAPTER.
Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa was born January 14, 1965, in Manila Philippines. She has worked as a retired Language Instructor, interpreter, caregiver, secretary, product promotion employee, and private therapeutic masseur. Her works have been published as poems and short story anthologies in several language translations for e-magazines, monthly magazines, and books; poems for cause anthologies in a Zimbabwean newspaper; a feature article in a Philippine newspaper; and had her works posted on different poetry web and blog sites. She has been writing poems since childhood but started on Facebook only in 2014. For her, Poetry is life and life is poetry.
Lilian Kunimasa considers herself a student/teacher with the duty to learn, inspire, guide, and motivate others to contribute to changing what is seen as normal into a better world than when she steps into it. She has always considered life as an endless journey, searching for new goals, and challenges and how she can in small ways make a difference in every path she takes. She sees humanity as one family where each one must support the other and considers poets as a voice for Truth in pursuit of Equality and proper Stewardship of nature despite the hindrances of distorted information and traditions.
Eso he boisakh eso eso ( welcome o boiasakh welcome welcome)
Chayanot, an artist group at the Ramana Botmul, Dhaka
In so colorful dresses with so many folk songs by others too
This traditional day is celebrated by the whole country
And the other countries of the world where Bangalees live
Regarding its own cultural views, it’s an extra taste of life
Following its past glory, it reflects the people’s ways of life.
The time is for growing new leaves in the branches of the trees
And falling down the old to the ground
The roads and fields with grey leaves decorated like the carpets
That spread to shake hands having a new connection within
The moderate weather farewells the winter season
Saying Good Bye to the decay and infirmity
Coming out from home people sing and dance
The processions with the masks in the faces
Holding so many posters and placards in hands
Reflects the wonderful past
By the way the shops are designed for Halkhata
(Halkhata means paying the debts of the clients it closes the old khata
and opens the new one)
The clients are served with some sweet foods in the shops
Now the things can be seen rarely in the rural areas once hugely in yesteryear
Some play with sticks by the way in a circle
The children make fun in Nagordola (Go round in a circle)
Some prepares soaked rice for breakfast in the morning
Enjoying with green chilies, onion, salt, potato stuffing and fried fishes etc.
The procession with the masks in the faces reflects the past
With the use of fine arts it demonstrates the traditional things
Like the horse carriage, bullock carts, palanquin and so many others
O the last year, go away from us burning the trash in mind
And blaze out the new soft sun with the glory of newness
The perpetual blessings to work.
Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh
13 April, 2025.
Md. Mahbubul Alam is from Bangladesh. His writer name is Mahbub John in Bangladesh. He is a Senior Teacher (English) of Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh. Chapainawabganj is a district town of Bangladesh. He is an MA in English Literature from Rajshahi College under National University. He has published three books of poems in Bangla. He writes mainly poems but other branches of literature such as prose, article, essay etc. also have been published in national and local newspapers, magazines, little magazines. He has achieved three times the Best Teacher Certificate and Crest in National Education Week in the District Wise Competition in Chapainawabganj District. He has gained many literary awards from home and abroad. His English writings have been published in Synchronized Chaos for seven years.
Killing the Bear
Born into fury,
starved and angry,
inhabiting the mountains
shiftless around Shasta,
he seemed when you met him
that summer day . . .
You had come there, alone,
from your home city
to escape its troubles,
the mad-making politics
that poisoned most
of the galling country:
a presidential oaf,
half cunning fox,
half demented bear,
and the rest of the barbarians
not only you loathed
with a lucid hatred,
and few ways to disgorge it.
So you went to the mountains.
Brought sleeping sack, tent,
bare necessities, fire needs,
a week’s worth of food,
a lamp, a knife;
hiked an hour and a half
into the Sierra
through oak and pine woods,
manzanita, brush land,
meadows of yellow grass,
by creeks of runoff
from the winter’s snowfall,
until you found a place
near a rock pile, flat,
at once cozy and open,
near a stream and a view
of a majesty of mountains
and no sign of humanity
for miles …
You stopped, took a deep
long breath—the first
you’d taken, it seemed,
for months. Your nerves,
tense so long, slackened.
You felt you were home
at last. You whistled
while setting up your tent,
felt the squirrels watching you,
sat for hours by the fire
as the long, high, deep
sky of summer evening
almost imperceptibly
faded into night
and stars you had not seen
since childhood…
It was a rude awakening
when sun pried your eyes open
to the sight of an old grizzly
staring blankly at you:
huge, mangy, hungry,
unsure on his legs, or the courage
of terror (despite
a distracting irrelevancy,
“Are there even grizzlies
in the Sierras?” almost tripped
your reflexes)
never would have driven
you to your first thrust.
The knife was near your sack:
a butcher knife it was,
just sharpened before you left;
hard, new, shining.
You grabbed it as the bear
trundled awkwardly at you,
and, yanking out of the sack,
you screamed like a banshee,
and, foolishly enough,
ran at it. The beast stopped,
puzzled by the naked
monkey waving a bit of
glitter with a pathetic
shriek. At full height,
he roared as you plunged
the blade into what
felt soft as a pillow.
A paw swatted you with contempt.
and you fell over the dead campfire,
smearing you with a warpaint
of ashes;
yet still holding the knife.
He came at you, claws out.
Leaping up with a new shout,
you swung the knife in wide arcs,
the beast baffling a moment,
then slipped behind a sycamore
as he clawed away its bark,
then pulled it down. Slipped
your foot at the edge
of the stream; you cried
in anguish and anger,
sure it was over
as the bear bore down
finally upon you,
his teeth bright, his breath
in your face, his eyes
as cold, shining as stones.
Terrified, hysterical, you shouted out
your last cry
and thrust the knife
at the throat.
It sunk to the haft; blood
spurted over your hand. The bear’s
roar choked to a gurgling,
the mouth froze, startled, the eyes,
blank, black, stunned,
as the light vanished from them;
they looked almost sad.
You felt almost sorry
as he sank over your legs,
groaning a sigh
as you pulled out the knife,
and fell back into the stream.
You hauled your legs slowly
from under the dead hulk.
Then pulled yourself from the flowing
cold water, and stood
on the stream bank,
gazing down at the beast,
the overthrown king
of the woods.
Then something curious happened:
you heard a voice. Strangely,
it was as if the grizzly
spoke from the dead body.
“Human:
between you and triumph
is no more than between
you and your destruction:
the difference is the act.
Shall the way of your life
be like the ice on a lake
or like the arc of an arrow?
“Be cunning and patient,
and when the time comes
to strike—and it always comes –
be swift, and be certain.
Most of all, remember:
keep your knife always
sharp. And close.”
Then you heard the singing
of many birds. Your eyes
opened to the flickering
of shadows above your head,
and you looked, surprised, around you.
You lay in your sack,
the tent undisturbed.
A zephyr shook it. You crawled
out to the cool morning.
What a dream! you thought.
Yet you were not sure.
You looked carefully about you,
half expecting the grizzly.
Nothing appeared but a few
squirrels; a robin
landed on a grass patch and flew off.
There are dreams so vivid
they seem more real than waking,
the reality of waking
could you but see the real.
But when you wake, you sleep,
and when you sleep, you waken:
the lessons of that other world
are ones that you fail
to learn at your peril.
Who can be sure? No one.
Yet the hungry bear
that now is coming toward you
is vulnerable to one
(you know, now you have woke),
to one, single, lucky,
well-timed, well-delivered,
coolly administered,
unfearing stroke.
_____
Christopher Bernard is an award-winning poet and novelist living in San Francisco. His book The Socialist’s Garden of Verses won a PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award in 2021. In 2025, his first novel, A Spy in the Ruins, is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its original publication.
