Іt is said in Wikipedia that the term ‘isolation’ has several meanings:
[In architecture and construction, it is a process of insulation (thermal insulation), hydrofuge insulation, and sound insulation of the building. Isolation in population genetics is the process of creating any barriers that disrupt the panmixia and gene flow. Isolation is a restriction on freedom of action in state policy, in society regarding the individual, etc.] And in life… In our life, it seems to be one of the most commonly used words since 2020.
Today, most of us primarily associate the term ‘isolation’ with the pandemic and quarantine restrictions. However, we want to consider it in a broader context, to find threads that would combine the full range of meanings. In some way in society, creative people are marginalized, being excluded or unconsciously sealing themselves off from too harsh realities. We feel the need for solitude, as well as the need to be with each other.
From whom and from what do we want to isolate ourselves? What gives us this state is a space for creativity and self-exploration, listening to our own thoughts and the opportunity to finally find out who we really are; or perhaps, an awareness of the urgent need for the other, whoever he is? What will this isolation experience teach us? Won’t we want to stay with it forever? Poetic texts reveal these states, referring us to very personal stories and experiences.
In the special program Poetry of Isolation, we will share poems written during the quarantine, walk through the favorite streets of the city, whispering to ourselves conversations with it, visit an art-healing session, where the poet will meet his shadow, and we will look into his creative dialogue with himself. We will not miss the topic of forced political and cultural isolation, mentioning the poets of the so-called ‘displaced generation’. We will walk the path from restrictions and barriers to conscious ‘insulation’ of our inner ‘selves’.