A Forest of Spirit

Last winter, at the turn of the old and new year, we went to the forest. It was the day of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The end and the beginning. On such important natural days, we always try to interact with it, with nature. And it is very important for us not to lose touch with the forest. So we chose a forest not far from Krakow and went there on a snowy December day.

And we got what we were looking for. And more than that. We communicated with the trees. We rolled in the snow. We felt one with nature. After all, nature doesn't leave us - it's people who move away from it, even though they are always a part of it. We walked around and felt that our spirit and the spirits of nature, and its Spirit are one.

And apart from the sense of the intangible, we simply enjoyed the views. Among other things, we found ponds that looked literally like something out of a fairy tale or some kind of fantasy. And then we decided that we would come back to this place again in spring.

So we did. At the end of May, we visited the forest again. We spent even more time there. We settled our winter debt to leshy. Once again we enjoyed the view of the ponds - now in a springtime entourage. And once again we felt that spiritual, immaterial, with which the forest is permeated. And (importantly), those places gave us inspiration for new parts of the book "Cloch and Bua".

Indeed, photos don't really give you the feeling of space. Neither the sense of the spiritual. But here they are. And perhaps you, too, can feel inspired through them?

A Trip to Georgia

April was a month to experience a new country - Georgia. A lot of incredibly tasty food, nice and hospitable people, wonderfully beautiful landscapes, unique culture. Truly it is a place to recommend for visiting.

In the overall flow of experiences there, there were two especially touching moments/places for me.

The first of these places is Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta (old capital of Georgia, just outside Tbilisi). I just crossed the doorstep and literally no sooner had I taken a step than this church completely disarmed me. I was instantly plunged into an incredible sensation of the Spirit. Immediately the tears flowed.

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https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a1227d_86db66828a6f4f1e806d537007d8692e/720p/mp4/file.mp4

The second place that particularly touched me in Georgia was the ancient cave city of Uplistsikhe. And especially the landscapes surrounding it. Now I seem to have two favourite landscapes: Finnish-Karelian selkä forests interspersed with lakes, and these stony-grassy places (I would also love to see the sea next to them). Basically, the second ones are somehow similar to selkä: areas covered with vegetation with occasional rock outcrops.

This landscape somehow reflected in me the feelings of a kind carefree life and luminous clarity of the world - sensations that are particularly well experienced as a child.

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What are the features of magical realism?

The other day, we had a discussion with my friend Konstantin (who is also an excellent writer and musician) on how to describe the style of "magical realism". What's special about it? How is it different from other styles? What are its characteristics? We discussed the 'official' origins of the style – the Latin American writers, and the fact that before them the characteristics of this style were certainly found in the works of many authors. Some resources, for example, classify Gogol as one of them. We also discussed the fact that this style, although more richly represented in Latin America, certainly has no territorial limitations: Polish Tokarchuk, Chinese Mo Yan, British Gaiman... We compared it with symbolism and surrealism. And finally came to the idea that magical realism can be a little difficult to cram into the framework of techniques and definitions - rather, it is a feeling that arises from the reading. A general atmosphere that, regardless of the specifics of the plot, can be seen in the works of different authors.

It would be interesting to know the readers' opinion in this regard. How would you describe the style of "magical realism"? What is it, that common, you can feel in the works of Cortázar, Márquez, Murakami? Feel free to write back with your ideas and opinions!

For a brief foreword, I would like to attach a short piece – a sketch I wrote a few days ago.

"Skin furrows-canyons. Washed with oil. Which revives. You look closer, imagining yourself wandering on yourself. A mini version of yourself. A time of transformations-shrinkings. You'll walk to your nails, slip there, as you're just out of the shower, and your nails are wet and slippery. But you'll manage to catch on a little burr. You'll jump up like an acrobat, and land: not too hard, not too soft - just about right. You'll try stomping on your skin to test the pressure when you're miniaturised. And then suddenly you'll remember all your birthmarks - sacred places on your body map. And will go on a pilgrimage: first to one, then to a second, to a third. To all of them. And, on the way, you'll hear the gurgling and bubbling - the internal eruptions of your own body."