REVIEW / MILAN B. POPOVIĆ: SOULS ARE SILENT, QUIET!

An exceptional yet heartbreaking introduction to the poetry collection Souls Are Silent, Quiet! is sure to leave no one indifferent.

PHOTO: Ilija Šaula

The collection is, as it turns out, dedicated to Braco's (Ilija Šaula, according to reviewer M.B.P.) mother, Stanica Šaula, who passed away on June 21, 2015. As the author, poet and visual artist Ilija Šaula, confesses—his mother Stanica loved his poetry, read it in secret, and he knew she felt pride in his work, even though she never officially told him.

In this sense, the first poem in the book, titled Do Not Wake Me Tonight, begins with the lines: "I thought I would write a poem tonight," and concludes with: "that thought became more than a poem, a joy of existence that is lived!"

The collection Souls Are Silent, Quiet! consists of two significant chapters: A Heart’s Record, and the considerably more extensive chapter titled I Began to Forgive. Ilija Šaula, both a literary figure and a successful visual artist, is undoubtedly a thoughtful and convincing poet. Šaula delves deeply into his inner spiritual metro, clearly intertwining it with symbols of nature and light, such as the sun, symbols of health like the heart, and symbols of poetry, like the sound of a guitar, a rainy morning, hot afternoons, dusks, sleepless nights, and more. The presence of God is good and divine in every one of Šaula's lyrical semantic layers and his creative imprint, which must be at the highest possible level of artistic mastery and reach.

At moments, Ilija Šaula briefly enters poetic melancholic swamps, but he quickly soars out with his verse, reaching among the shining stars, towards the crimson moonlight, and distant horizons...

One of the most important and bold moments—on which I encourage you, the wide reading audience, to pay particular attention to—is the first part of this significant book, especially poetic records like Dormant Desires and They Hear Us!.

The second, strongly synergistic, permeating, reflective, and undoubtedly impressive, powerful, and bold chapter titled I Began to Forgive contains 36 poetic documents—poems filled with lyrical energy and the electricity of words, verses, and stanzas. With their unusual titles, the poems presented in this collection, Souls Are Silent, Quiet!, can and should comfortably be called poetry, as the elite discipline of the spirit. I wouldn’t single out any specific poem from this chapter, as they all, collectively and compatibly, hold the reader's attention to the very end of this pleasant, serious, personal, and ultimately sincere, almost confessional—good book with an intriguing title: Souls Are Silent, Quiet!.

Some true values, treasures, the beauty of secrets, and literary achievements, you simply must and are intentionally left to discover and grasp on your own. Get your hands on this poetry book by Ilija Šaula. A sincere recommendation!

Milan B. Popović is a poet, literary critic, music CD reviewer, and columnist.