Tugomir Matić, Where the fish disappeared
WRITTEN BY: Zerina Arnaut
For Tugomir Matić, writing is exactly that, a way of fighting one's own demons, and solitude never turns into boredom, but into poetry that, although it speaks of everyday life, exudes truth, in which we can all find ourselves.
When already in the first lines of Tugomir Matić's new collection of poems, entitled Gdje su nestale ribe , the lyrical subject calls himself the master of silence, and the poetry before us says that it came from silence, we have to ask ourselves where it comes from, whether from solitude or loneliness, from reconciliation with nature, or as a sign of protest:
Maybe I'm writing.
so that I don't forget
to speak.
Tugomir Matić has so far published several collections of poems ( Midnight in Sarajevo , Between Heaven and Earth , Time of Silence , Kartolina , Pay Attention to Details , I Didn't Build a House ), as well as prose works ( Sarajevo Beer and Scandinavian Nights , Jazz for a Forgotten Uncle ). Always, as one of the themes in his literature, the question of how an individual relates to the world stands out, where silence, silence and isolation stand out, which should not be interpreted as an escape from reality, but the exact opposite, immersion in everyday life and noticing details that escape the average observer. Matić focuses on routine, on life on an island which, by definition, implies isolation from the rest of the world.
The song "Night by the sea" best evokes the landscape that indicates the solitude and desolation that the lyrical subject chooses and in which, in a way, he enjoys. The night by the sea is cold and wet, the only companions for man and dog are fog and boats, the streets are deserted, and the rain has left the island, silence reigns. Although the lyrical subject admits that that day is gone forever and that it was spent in vain, it is clear to us that it is his choice, that poetry emerges from the possibility of that choice. In the poem "The Devil", he is alone with the dog again, but this time he is in the house, it is raining, and he is writing to fight the devil in his head. For Tugomir Matić, writing is exactly that, a way of fighting one's own demons, and loneliness never turns into boredom, but into poetry that, although it talks about everyday life, exudes truth, in which we can all find ourselves.
In his afterword to Matić's collection, Nedžad Ibrahimović states that it exudes the atmosphere of haiku poetry, the poems are short, the last stanza carries a point that may, at first glance, seem unfinished, but continues to echo like an echo and haunt us throughout the entire collection. Ibrahimović also notes that Matić's poetry is characterized by pannaturism, which carries with it a dose of infantile unity with the world. Matić's lyrical subject not only lives on an island, he is imprisoned in himself, the people he meets are only shadows of life in the noise and hustle and bustle of the city. Thus, in the song "Clock", the lyrical subject describes the hustle and bustle of the city, the smiling faces of people on the streets and old family photos, while the hands of the wall clock spin involuntarily in a circle. He is aware that those smiling people he meets on the streets are the same as people in old photographs, they are caught in the blink of an eye and become part of the past. The lyrical subject recognizes the longing on the faces waiting for a miracle, and is aware that they will soon become shadows, memories. That's why he isolates himself, revives his memories and, as we see in the song "Who are all these people", he rarely leaves the island, he has no need because he travels every night, he wakes up tired of visiting cities that don't exist and meeting people that don't exist.
In the song "How beautiful can this day be described", Matić brings his poetics to its peak, where in everyday life, in one day that is equal to yesterday or the one before it, one can find something unique and beautiful. The lyrical subject is sleepy, it's raining, the phone doesn't ring, there's no news, but/that can only bother someone/ whom everything bothers.
Where the Fish Disappeared is a collection that celebrates blissful solitude , the feeling from which oneness with the world arises, the silence that gives birth to poetry that has no rhymes and countless stylistic figures, poetry that speaks of truths, of everyday life, of wars, of rain, of medicines, of walks, of dogs and cats. It is poetry in which the poet tries to answer the question Who am I ?, and asks the readers the question Who are you ?.
The collection closes with the poem "Advice", where the poet tells us how to find the answer to the question posed above. His advice is clear and precise - let's get away from social networks, from mobile phones, run away from noise and commotion, from the lives of people we don't know and that we follow every day, cover our heads with a blanket and dive into the darkness, because it is in that darkness that the light that brings peace is hidden, and that's something we need the most, today more than ever.