"I'm waiting for the top of the poets that didn't undergo surgery for appendicitis to be made..."
The fact that he was 'activating' alternatively the two names when he was signing, according to who was at his interior desk - the Poet or the Journalist - , didn't matter for those from Cațavencu, who gave him two compliments in a single top, voting him last week in the gallery of the sexy intellectuals'. One thing is certain: Cosmin Tupa remains Cosmin Tupa when organising "Poeticile cotidianului" ("The Poetics of the Daily"). That who knows, understands...
Photo by Alexandra Sandu
Did your shares grow as a poet since you were voted in the top of the sexy intellectuals?
This with the shares is almost as innocent as the one with the intellectuals. I felt like in a reservation of heterosexuals where women, instead of getting revenge for the way in which they are treated by men, say jokes about blonds. Well, I'm not as embarrassed now as I was when I found out.
But when you say sexy what do you say? I have no way of connecting the adjective to men. More likely to movies. And regarding to that... I haven't done it since high school! I feel so bad when I realise that I'm not interested in something...
The shares as a poet... cool. For s while I was the best poet on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., while I was presenting the guests from "Poeticile cotidianului" ("The Poetics of the Daily"). Now, I'm glad that there still are parallel events. I'm waiting for the top of the poets that didn't undergo surgery for appendicitis to be made, you should see shares then...
Who wrote you down on Wikipedia and why?
This questions really caught me by surprise. The jury?!
Why did you choose in some publications to sign under Cosmin Țupa, and in others with Răzvan Țupa?
It's easy. When I entered the press, at "Evenimentul zilei" ("The Event of the Day"), I had no clue about almost anything. Cornel Nistorescu made me think a little about the difference between literature and press. Some years before I had made a reversed operation. From Cosmin, as everyone knew me back home, to Răzvan... To be sure that, if it comes out foolishly, I would still have a name under which I could take refuge.
Were you never tempted by the amplitude of the epic genre?
Not at all. I think it is a speciality in itself. Maybe at one point, but now it seems to me that poet expresses best what I have written.
If you would write a novel, what subject would you choose?
About Ghana. I always wanted to document myself there.
Which poem do you wish you would have written?
I think I can't decide. You don't mind, do you?
Which love made you throw away the most numerous papers?
The one which made me start writing. Being very shy, I started writing to in order to manage when I was talking to her. As I don't have talent, I had to feel bad for many of the notes. Then, I stumbled upon a poetry that is a little too obscure, of which even now I come out with difficulty. I must say that her name was Carmen and to this day I can't speak relaxed when I meet her. Therefore, I still have to write...
Where do you imagine that your books get to once they leave the library?
I wouldn't want to believe that in the garbage and I'm glad that I have never found one in a second-hand bookshop. I think someone is keeping them. But usually I found them in my friends' bookcases.
Are you too sensitive for this world?
Not at all. I think it would be good for me to be more sensitive. Who knows me, says that I am too sensitive regarding things that should be treated rationally. And the other way around.
Photo by Alexandra Sandu
Your friends know you better because they have read you?
A few.
Who understands truly that you are a poet?
Ooo, you're going to laugh. Quite a lot of my friends understand this. Actually, they endure me. Very few are also enjoying poetry. But the one who best understands me is my former English teacher from the secondary school of librarians, Ana-Maria Câmpianu.
Can you be a professional poet?
You can, but not in Romania. And even in another part, but in absolutely exceptional situations, and quite late. The moment you are not really a poet anymore, you remain a venerable. In other words, you can but I don't know if it is pretty. All that that is left is for poems to be produced as bread! Every time I turn around from a project that makes you feel like a professional, in an inexplicable blockage.
I don't know how much someone would enjoy it of all this story would become a profession.
What does it mean to be part of a generation of writers and what presupposes to make yourself remarked as individuality?
It sounds so complicated! I think the first part presupposes to have someone to talk to about what you are interested in. The second one... doesn't really suit me. Meaning it makes me think about the fact that during general school I wanted to become a football player. Football players truly must make themselves noticed.
Don't you spoil yourself as a poet because you are a journalist?
It depends, if you take yourself seriously. Of course that when you are a journalist all the way, poetry somewhat sharpens its edges for you. I think it is really hard for a talented poet to be a journalist.
Photo by Alexandra Sandu
What convinces you that what you are writing truly matters?
There is a standard related to the consistency of the states you are having. The rest is context. For me, and this is very subjective, the most important thing is to find out to what extent what you are writing changes the context in which you are.
You are organising the meetings "Poeticile cotidianului" ("The Poetics of the Daily") in Bucharest. How is that?
Well from the idea that one of the biggest problems that poetry has comes from the fact that poets, most often, talk only about themselves. At "Poeticile cotidianului" ("The Poetics of the Daily") in Club A, the ones who I invite talk about other poets as well. Let's say that this is how much I was able to talk about the others.
It is true that when I started holding "Poeticile..." ("The Poetics...") in Club A I was thinking about a promotion instrument for poetry and literature. After four years of weekly meetings, I got to realise how foolishly can poetry sometimes function in the public medium. In short: when I thought that poetry can change the way in which the public space functions; actually, there where enough moments in which the public space mutilated poets. Therefore I prefer promoting less the event and bringing more people interested by poetry and literature, than a wide public from elsewhere. Now, the meetings in Club A sound more intimate. But maybe I will change my mind again. And it is very probable.
