Versopolis Podcast #22: Poetry inspired by nature and folklore

In this episode, we talked with two poets whose writing is deeply influenced by their upbringing in the countryside. Denis Škofič explains how his childhood near the Mura river – spent fishing and listening to stories – shaped his poetics. How does the tension between humanity’s subjugation of the Earth on one hand and human vulnerability on the other reflect in his latest, multiple-award-winning poetry collection, Tuskulum? Furthermore, how has the rich folkloric tradition of the Pannonian region impacted his writing?

Alta Ifland is a Romanian-born poet who lived on the coast of California for many decades before returning to Europe. How did the stories she heard as a child growing up in Romania influence her prose poems, which blend Kafkaesque absurdity with the surreal logic of folk tales? The many references to animals, particularly in her collection of prose poems, Snail’s Song, evoke a fable-like quality. What role does tradition play in her work, and how do the many references to animals enhance the dreamlike atmosphere of her poems?

Denis Škofič is a poet and literary critic. His debut poetry collection Sprehajalec ptic (The Birdwalker, 2013), was nominated for both the Jenko Award and the Critics’ Sieve Award. His second poetry collection, Seganje (Reaching, 2018), was translated into Greek. For his third poetry collection, Tuskulum (Tusculum), published in 2023, Škofič received both the Cankar Award for the best literary work of the year and the Veronika Award for the best poetry collection.

Alta Ifland is a poet and writer from Romania. She took part in the overthrow of Romania’s communist dictatorship, and emigrated to the United States in 1991. Her books include The Wife Who Wasn’t (New Europe Books), Elegy for a Fabulous World (2010 finalist for the Northern California Book Award in Fiction) and Death-in-a-Box (2011 Subito Press Fiction Prize). After many years in California, she lives currently in France.