"It will soon be twenty years since I received first prize at the Josip Ozimec Spiritual Reflection Recital in Marija Bistrica for the poem, “Jesus at the Crossroads.” This year, the Recital is being held for the 22nd time. 2001, yes, that long ago, will forever be etched in my memory. It was the last time the greatest Croatian poet, Vesna Parun, was at the Recital in Marija Bistrica and it was the last time she shared her experiences of those simple and short Kajkavian poems. However, according to her, they were much more than simple, they were actually vitally important (and I agree). I actually participated in the Recital twice and I received a prize for my second poem as well. Why did I only participate twice? The answer is simple. Spiritual Reflection lyrics are difficult to write. Indeed, they are the hardest to compose. They reach into the most intimate part of a human being - the soul ... the spirit ... the very essence of who we are. One needs to find the right words, the right images, for them to be honest; free from banality; not to be just a string of stereotypes; to be in some way humble in their simplicity. Spiritual poetry needs to be inspired. It must be sublime but also reflect a certain meekness. Maybe the poems should be puzzling too. I often use motifs of Jesus and God in Kajkavian poetry, but this poetry is not of a spiritual nature. It belongs to the modern corpus because I use Jesus as a symbol of eternity; a symbol of hope for a better future; as catharsis; as the opposite of everything earthly. It represents purification from evil, anxiety and the stresses of modern man. I never try to reduce it to gingerbread-fair poetry. The style does not deserve it." -said the author Tomislav Ribić.
Tomislav Ribić
