10 Fragen an Giorgi Shonia.
1. Which impact has Tbilisi on your own work?
Tbilisi has a great influence on me, I can’t write when I am away from Tbilisi. Tbilisi is an urban city, my poetry is urban too, I can’t imagine it without the daily rhythm of this city. That’s why Tbilsi plays an important part in my poetry, it is my inspiration.
2. What do you like about Tbilisi? What is annoying you?
I am fond of Tbilisi very much, because the cultural and literary process actively runs here which is so lack for other regions of Georgia. Tbilsi is also a multicultural city. There are lots of people of various nations and it makes the life more interesting and colourful here. Though, the most troublesome problem in Tbilisi is architectural chaos and polluted air by car fumes, generally environmental issues. It’s unbearable because Tbilisi is losing its historical surface.
3. How is your experience with the Literature Scene in Tbilisi?
My poems are published in Georgian literary journals . I also often participate in literary events. Several times I had meetings with students at the school. It was amazing.
4. On which project are you working right now?
From the 10th-11th of June, I held, together with my mate Nick Lashkhia, a modern Art Festival: F-5 in Zugdidi. It´s a nice, little western town of Georgia, where we invited some Georgian poets, writers and musicians. It was very relevant event for Zugdidi, because there are not often such cultural and literary events in Georgian regions. I think, it was „a proper step“ towards the cultural process of decentralization.
5. How do you bring yourself in a mood for your writing? Which capabilities, which writing-environment and atmosphere do you need?
The Writing process is still mystical for me till now, as I don’t know how it happens. One thing I really know is that I can’t write when I am happy and satisfied. A strong desire appears, when I am in depression or surroundings give me some challenges to write. These can be the workers actions, strikes and other activities.
6. How do you develop a literature text?
Working with texts is a very hard process, as it takes a long time to finish or form the text. Sometimes it lasts for months to perform a text and get the result that you wished for. But it’s a very pleasant feeling while writing, as you see your text in the initial stages and enjoy your work result.
7. How much time do you spend with your writing per week? Are you satisfied with that time?
You never know how much time you will work, in a week or a month. It happens, that you can’t write anything for some months but you are able to do much work in a week, which you can’t imagine to do in a year. A writing process can’t be planned and predicted beforehand, that’s why it is so attractive but I’m never satisfied with myself willing to increase and improve the quality of my poems.
8. On which current social topics are you interested right now? And do there have impact on your writing?
Just now I’m working on a poem, that is wholly about modern Georgia together with its most important, social, actual topics and challenges. Today you can’t be in Georgia without not writing about social problems, because the people’s rights are often infringed, e.g. the rights of workers, builders, miners and other people. But there are not only social problems in this poem but it is a wide, existential poem about a human who starts his life from the times of his childhood fears to cognize the universe and step by step makes conclusions in every stage of his life.
9. How did you become a writer?
I started writing poems in tenth grade. The reason of it was too banal, I fell in love with one of my schoolmates and began to dedicate her my first rhymes. I don’t love the girl anymore but the desire of writing poems hasn’t disappeared, it is going on and on.
10. How do you use the internet and social media platforms for your writing and as a place for presentation?
As I mentioned above, my poems are being published in several literary journals and also on internet websites. For me, the internet gives you a good chance to realize yourself, to present your thoughts and feelings to the audience who also has a good opportunity to read and analyse your poems.