Interviews Archives

A bust of the great poet, France Prešeren. (source)

Today is Prešeren Day in Slovenia. One of this site’s oldest traditions is to spend it with someone who shares this famous Slovenian surame. I almost forgot this year, but in the last minute arranged for a quick chat with the very kind Matjaž Prešeren (32) of Maribor.

As always: visit Prešeren.net for all your Prešeren needs. And have a happy holiday!

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Michael M.: What were you like as a child? How was it growing up with such a famous surname?
Prešeren: I was a very happy child. I have four brothers and one sister. We were a big and happy family. But the name was not special back then. Today it is, more so.

Michael M.: Do you have any similarities with the poet? (A fondness for poetry, drinking, etc…)
Prešeren: Poetry, yes. Good wine, yes. Refošk, yes. (laughs) I also don’t eat figs.

Michael M.: Have you written any poetry?
Prešeren: When I was five I wrote a little poem. After that — nope.

Michael M.: How will you be spending your namesake holiday?
Prešeren: I’ll be working. Just working.

(See also: part one and part two)

A portrait of France Preseren by Marjan Belec.

Today is the anniversary of the death of Slovenia’s most magnificent poet, France Preseren. It’s a national holiday and, like last year, we’re happy to spend it with a living Preseren — this time an American one. I’m thankful to Herman J. Preseren of North Carolina for taking some time to talk and reflect on his famous last name.

To learn more about the life of Preseren, or to read some of his poems, visit Preseren.net.

The Glory of Carniola: How is your name usually pronounced in the United States?

Herman J. Preseren: Pronouncing Preseren here is impossible. The nearest possibility has been Presheren. My kin in Cleveland and our family decided years ago to keep the spelling as it is in Slovenian, but without the mark above the s. Usually folks kind of stutter at the name beginning as pree then fumble the rest. I correct them immediately with Press-ern. That is the way our family does it. There are other Preserens in America, but I have no idea how it’s done with them.

TGoC: When did you realize that you shared a last name with a famous poet?

Preseren: When I was a child. My father was well versed in the poet and taught me a bit of history. As I got older I began to see Slovenian fraternal organizations or singing societies named after the poet. Gradually I began to read more about him.

TGoC: Are you possibly related to France Preseren? What do you know about your family background?

Preseren: I doubt any close relationship. I traced my family to a Mathias Preseren who was Franc’s contemporary. Mathias had a tract of land above Ambroz near Cerklje. I haven’t been able to trace Mathias’ birthplace. My father’s family lived near Sencur where he and two brothers and a sister were born. His sister’s family descendants still live at Sencur. A daughter, my first cousin, lives in Kranj. Her name is Ivanka Markun.

TGoC: Do you have any personal similiarities with Preseren? (Love of wine and friends, fondness for tragic romances, etc..)

Preseren: I doubt it. I don’t truly understand poetry. My likes are history and geography. Taught both in high school and at a university. I drink wine on occasion. Had flits of romance, but married a fine North Carolina lady with whom I lived over 60 years. I lost her over a year ago. I’m up in age, retired, and living alone but have many friends.

TGoC: Have you ever read any Preseren? What did you think?

Preseren: I have several books both in Slovene and in English. I’ve read most of his poetry translated. His thoughts were deep with a love for the classics. I slowly and laboriously read Slovenian - learned "kitchen-Slovene" at home and self-educated. I’ve promoted France Preseren to my university colleagues. Several have visited Slovenia because of it. One of my friends made a Christmas card featuring Bled as a picture and Preseren’s Toast as the message. If possible I hope to be visiting Slovenia for the fifth time this coming Summer.
Wishing all Slovenians a wonderful Preseren Day on the eighth!

Janša Forever: Graffiti on a bridge in Maribor.

The head of the center-right party SDS, Janez Janša, was elected to be Slovenia’s new prime minister yesterday. His accession ends virtually 12 years of center-left rule in this country. He now has 15 days to submit a cabinet to the Slovenian parliament for approval.

Although Janša has his share of enemies, many Slovenes seem to be happy to see a shake-up in government, regardless of their political affiliation. The question is how big the shake-up will be. Janša is expected to basically stay the course when it comes to the economy, although he has promised to reduce the country’s colossal taxes, work on improving the privatization process and reform the labor market.

One very big question, of course, is what to do about… you-know-who. The neighbor. The one that rhymes with "Malaysia." The border issue between the two countries is still a pressing problem, and Janša will be under enormous pressure to solve it to Slovenia’s advantage.

Shortly after the election, I had a chance to talk with Mr. Janša over the phone. I didn’t have much time, but you can read the interview here. There’s also a longer profile of Janša here.

Here’s wishing him and the new government the best of luck in the coming years.

Tanja Kovac: The biggest fan of Michael Jackson in Slovenia and possibly beyond.

Things may not be going well for Michael Jackson in California right now, but here in Slovenia he has the unwavering love and support of a fan named Tanja Kovac. The 23-year-old financial assistant from Ljubljana runs MJSlo.com, a Slovenian portal dedicated to the king of pop. Recently, Tanja was kind enough to talk with The Glory of Carniola. Here’s what she had to say about being a Michael Jackson fan, her collection of Jackson stuff, and the charges against him.

The Glory of Carniola: When was the first time you heard a Michael Jackson song, and how did you react?

Tanja Kovac: The first time I heard a Michael Jackson song was way back in 1987. It was the time when Michael was on his world tour for BAD. I was just 7 years old and I only knew Michael by the way he looks. When I first became his fan I didn’t even know that he was a singer. I just came into my sister’s room and saw a poster of him on the wall and my eyes immediately turned to him. I remember asking my sister who this man was and my mouth was just wide open. I just couldn’t believe that one man could look so beautiful. A week after that I heard the whole BAD album when my sister brought it home so I could hear it. I guess my very first song by Michael was BAD since that’s the first song on the album. When I heard it I fell in love with him even more. He just has it all: the looks, the voice and such a wonderful character. I remember being very much in shock over his whole image and music.

TGoC: What’s in your current Michael Jackson collection?

Tanja: I have a large collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia. There are so many MJ things that people don’t even know exist. I have all of his albums, singles, vinyls, picture discs, special edition discs, his rare mixes and tapes, Jackson 5 and The Jacksons albums… all about his music. Then I have so many of his books, magazines (from all over the world), song books, calendars, notebooks, PVC bags with MJ on it, puzzles, MJ perfumes, sculptures, badges, stickers, over 1500 of his original photos, over 100 videocasettes of rare footage of Michael Jackson, pillows, posters, promotional posters, tour books, flags, caps, Mystery drink cans, MJ dolls (which sing the Black or White song), T-shirts, Billie Jean glove, hats (one of them was touched by Michael himself), DVD’s, concert tickets, original History tour bag,… My most special items are two Michael Jackson autographs that I got when I went to see Michael live (Berlin and London). I made a tattoo on my right arm of one of the autographs.

A tattoo of Michael Jackson’s signature adorns Tanja’s right arm.

TGoC: Tell me about the tatoo. Do you have any more — or are you planning on more?

Tanja: I always wanted to have a MJ tattoo and this dream came true for me just two days after I met Michael in Harrods, London. It was in June 2002. First I wanted to make a tattoo of Michael’s face but since I didn’t have enough money to do that, I decided it would be best to make a tattoo of a MJ autograph that my boyfriend got from Michael personally just a few days before. Everyone who saw it till this day has said it looks amazing, I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about it. Yes, I plan to do more of them. I want a tattoo of Michael’s face and I believe I will get it done soon.

TGoC: Does your boyfriend ever get jealous of your love for Michael Jackson?

Tanja: No. My boyfriend never gets jealous of my GIGANTIC love for Michael. He was even with me when I got the chance to meet Michael and didn’t mind that I kissed Michael’s hand. My boyfriend is a Michael Jackson fan as well.

TGoC: Is it difficult, as a fan, to watch what’s happening to MJ now? How do you know he is innocent? And what would you say to people who already think he’s guilty?

Tanja: Yes it is so painful to see what is happening to him now. I cannot believe that people can be so mean and cruel to make such an injustice against him just because of money. It breaks my heart to see him in pain and I want this injustice to end very soon. I organised a vigil – support event here in Ljubljana to show all Slovenian people that Michael is being framed. Fans came from all over Slovenia and even Croatia and Bosnia and together we talked to people about the truth of these allegations. We spread leaflets with information and gave Michael all our support. Everyone had a banner with them saying: »Michael is INNOCENT« and some MJ items like hats, gloves, T-shirts, posters; I made a web page called MJSlo.com where I inform people about all the news that is happening with Michael Jackson now. I translate the news from English to Slovenian so people can get the right information. I was sick and tired of reading false stories about Michael in our newspapers and that’s why I decided to do MJSlo.com.

You ask me how I know that Michael is innocent? I have been a Michael Jackson fan for 17 years already and through the years I have lived and breathed Michael Jackson. I got to know him through his interviews, shows, rare footage that I have of him, private recordings, I got to meet him live six times and talk to him, and through all these years I have seen whatta man he is. He has a great heart and a brilliant mind and I tell you there is NO WAY Michael ever did what they accuse him of. Everyone who knows Michael personally says the same. That’s just not in Michael’s heart, he could not even think of that. It’s people with sick minds that think like that. He is totally Innocent of any wrong doing.

To the people who already think he’s guilty I would like to quote Michael’s saying »Don’t judge a man until you have walked in his moccasins for two weeks.« Get the right information about these allegations, please visit MJSlo.com and read the truth about Michael Jackson and his life! If that’s still not enough for you wait and hear the truth in court. Lies run sprints, truth runs marathons. The truth will win this marathon!!!

Facts about Tanja

Place of birth: Ljubljana
Age: 23
Occupation: Financial assistant
Favorite MJ song: All of them, I could never decide, I love all MJ songs equally.
Hobbies: Being a Michael Jackson fan: listening to his music, collecting his items and enjoying my life by travelling to see him live.
Hopes for the future: That Michael Jackson would have a great life and that people would stop accusing him of false allegations. I wish him all the best in this world, lots of health, happiness and creativity. I hope the press would back off once and for all and would give him some credit for what he has done for this world.

Ljubljana from above. Photo by Bostjan Burger. Used with permission.

If you love seeing the Internet being used to its maximum potential, go see Bostjan Burger’s absolutely astounding: Virtual Reality Panoramas of Slovenia.

It is hands down the best site about Slovenia on the Internet, and easily one of the best pages I’ve ever seen. Slovenes have a phrase To je zakon, which literally means “This is the law” but actually means “This rules.” Well, Burger is the zakon.

His site has about 12.400 photos and over 3.000 virtual reality panoramas. A good place to start is this clickable map of Slovenia. You can also explore some of the larger cities, like Ljubljana, within an interactive city map. If you want to see what it’s like to stand in the center of Ljubljana, just click here.

You can literally spend hours on this site. With much of Slovenia covered, Bostjan has also begun working on other European countries, like France, Austria and Croatia.

I recently e-mailed some questions to Bostjan. Here’s what he told me:

The Glory of Carniola: What photo equipment do you use?

Bostjan Burger: At the moment:
Nikon F3, Nikon D100, variable set of lenses
Nikon CoolPix 5000 + lense adapters
Manfrotto tripod with several mount heads
Portable ultralight Notebook + GPS unit

TGoC: What made you start this page?

BB: The collecting of data started before 1996, and the first appearence came in 1996 as a provocation to Slovene people who were addicted to money and material things… I had traveled a lot but found out that Slovenia was (still isn’t, unfortunately… ): ) known — even though the geograpical location was one of the most important in Europe So I decided to set up a huge web site representing the country… but not in the usual way…

TGoC: What’s your personal favorite?

BB: The Virtual Reality Panoramas of Slovenian Caves.

TGoC: What’s left to do?

BB: The goal is to cover the whole country.

TGoC: Will this project ever be finished?

BB: I don’t believe so — it’s always on the move…

Left, France Preseren. Right, Polona Preseren.

Today is Preseren Day in Slovenia. France Preseren, born in 1800 in Upper Carniola, is the undisputed national poet of the country, in the way that Goethe is to Germany, or Shakespeare is to England. If you are interested, Preseren.net is a great English-language resource on his work and his ultimately tragic life. (In true Slovenian style, Preseren died alone and bitter after years of failed romances and heavy drinking.)

To celebrate Preseren Day, I talked to a living, breathing Preseren: Polona Preseren. She was kind enough to talk about what it’s like growing up with such a revered last name, about poetry, and about the great Dr. Preseren himself:

The Glory of Carniola: When I was kid, children used to yell "Michael, Michael, Motorcycle" at me. And I hated it. What was it like growing up with such a famous last name? Did children ever tease you?

Polona Preseren: I don’t remember other kids teasing me about my last name (they might for other kid stuff). At school the teachers always noticed my name first and so I was in front of the board more often than the others. But I was a good student, and I got used to it. Today, my friends say to me that I would be crazy to give up such a last name after getting married. And I agree.

The constant question for my family and me regarding our name was, and still is: “Are you related to the poet?” My mum was witty about it and always replied that she isn’t, but that her husband is! I always say I am related, although must confess there is no solid proof for that. But I’m very proud of my name. There are around 600 people in Slovenia with the same last name and because many documents have been lost it’s hard to say who is really related to the poet. But the origins of my family during Preseren’s time are traced to Zirovnica, which is very close to Vrba. (Editor’s note: Vrba na Gorenjskem is the village where Preseren was born)

TGoC: What do you think about Preseren’s poetry? Is he your favorite Slovene poet?

Preseren: Preseren is without a doubt a poet that deserves all the glory and respect of the nation. He put Slovenian literature and the Slovenian language on the map of Europe. Through poetry he helped Slovenians build a national identity. I can’t imagine where we would be without Preseren. Unfortunately, Europe does not know him, only rare experts know his name. Preseren was a European, whose poetry was ahead of his time. The verses of Slovenian national anthem A Toast (Zdravljica) are an example of that. Yes, he is my favourite poet.

TGoC: Do you have any personal similiarities with Preseren? (Love of wine, fondness for tragic romances)

Preseren: Of course I like a glass or two of good wine and I like good company. Maybe that is a similarity. Tragic romances? No. I think I’m too rational for that. But you never know… I’m still young and anything can happen. I might even start writing poetry.

TGoC: Did you ever write any poetry?

Preseren: Even though I like poetry very much, I don’t write it. So I can’t share the experience. The only poet in my family is my father. He wrote poems in his younger years, but then stopped. I don’t really know why.

TGoC: How do you normally spend Preseren Day? Is it strange to have a national holiday bearing your name?

Preseren: It’s great to have a national holiday with your name. As I said, I’m very proud of my name. Wouldn’t you be if there was a Manske day? Like other days off work I try to take as many advantages of it as possible, like enjoying nature, skiing or doing other outdoor activities. But it’s also true that during time I think more deeply about my roots and my ancestors. I make a resolution about which books to read, and what shows to see. And usually I don’t just make them, but also make them a reality.

Polona Preseren graduated in international relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana and has written for several magazines. For the last year and a half she has been the editor of Slovenia News, which is published by Government Public Relations and the Media Office of the Republic of Slovenia.