Title: A Conversation on Displacement, Identity, and Quiet Resistance in Croatian Poetry
Participants:
Interviewer: Emmanuel Chimezie (Nigeria)
Guest: Amb. Ankica Anchie (Croatia) — Humanist, Poetess, Author
Opening Segment
Emmanuel Chimezie (Interviewer):
Good day, ma. It is a great honor to have you here. Today, we will talk about poetry and how it expresses absence, identity, and quiet struggles in Croatia.
Amb. Ankica Anchie (Guest):
I deeply appreciate you for giving me the opportunity and honour the audience for this great opportunity
Question 1
Many young people are leaving Croatia to find better lives. How does your poetry talk about this loss?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
My poetry often lives in what is left behind—empty spaces, quiet homes, and memories that linger after people leave. Migration is not just movement, it’s an emotional fracture. I try to write about that invisible absence.
Question 2
With the rising cost of living, how do you turn quiet daily struggles into something poetic?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
Poetry begins in small, unnoticed moments. Fatigue, silence, repetition—these are not empty; they are full of meaning. I try to translate those quiet struggles into something that feels seen and shared.
Question 3
As tourism grows and locals feel pushed out, how do you write about belonging and displacement?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
I see belonging as something deeply emotional, not just physical. When spaces change, people begin to feel like strangers in their own lives. My poetry explores that tension—between home and distance.
Question 4
In a society where some voices feel ignored, can your poetry speak for the unheard?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
I don’t try to speak for others, but I try to create space where their presence can be felt. Poetry doesn’t shout—it whispers. And sometimes, whispers carry the deepest truths.
Question 5
How do you explore identity in a country still shaped by its past and present changes?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
Identity is not fixed—it shifts with time, memory, and experience. I write within that tension, between what we were and what we are becoming.
Question 6
With growing inequality, how does your poetry reveal the gap between different social classes?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
Through details. Small differences in everyday life often reveal more than grand statements. Poetry allows me to show those quiet contrasts.
Question 7
As climate change affects coastal life, how does nature appear in your poems—wounded or resisting?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
Both. Nature carries scars, but it also endures. The sea, the wind, the stone—they reflect both vulnerability and strength. In that, I see a mirror of us.
Question 8
In a time of political tension and distrust, do you use poetry to question power or to reflect reality?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
Poetry is a space of freedom. It doesn’t always confront directly, but it asks questions. Sometimes simply showing reality is already a form of resistance.
Question 9
How do you write about mental and emotional struggles that many people silently carry today?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
With honesty. I believe vulnerability matters. Poetry can make people feel less alone, even when nothing is solved.
Question 10
Do you believe poetry in Croatia today can help people face truth, or does it only soften it?
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
Poetry doesn’t hide the truth—it reshapes it into something we can approach. Its softness isn’t weakness; it’s a way in.
Closing Segment
Emmanuel Chimezie:
Thank you for your profound and honest answers. Your poetry reminds us that even in silence and absence, there is presence, and even in soft whispers, there is truth.
Amb. Ankica Anchie:
Thank you for this thoughtful conversation. Poetry continues to be a space where we can reflect, endure, and connect beyond borders. I hope readers and poets alike will continue to listen—to themselves, to others, and to the quiet truths that shape our lives