Twogalsandabook recently read The Child of Happiness by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets. The book is a collection of poems by the author. Please see our reviews and interview with author Stjepan Varesevac Cobets below.
From the author: The collection of poetry is a summary of selected poem that I wrote many years. I hope that you enjoy reading as I enjoyed writing. In this collection of poetry are collected all my feelings that I want to share with you through the verse.
Stacy’s Review – 4****
I enjoyed this collection of poems. The poems encompass a wide range of emotions: happiness, joy, despair, heartbreak, sadness, longing, etc. I marked the ones I liked best with bookmarks, and now the book bulges with them. LOL… I really liked the word pictures Mr. Cobets creates; great imagery! I got permission from the poet to print one here as an example, and have had trouble choosing just one–
MY THREADS
I release my threads like an old spider
And, as if I didn’t care when tiny dust has fallen,
Old paste is dried for some mad silence,
There is nobody to be caught while they play.
If anybody comes to my kingdom
He should dust them to see my colours.
And only then is hope to stick to them,
To revive my lips, so much desirous of love.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Mr. Cobets for sharing this with me. : )
Mischenko’s Review
The Child of Happiness is a book of poems written by author Stjepan Varesevac Cobets.
It’s been awhile since I’ve taken the time to read good poetry, and this book was like a breath of fresh air. I felt a connection with many of the poems.
The poem layouts were simple and easy to read with good content. I really savored reading each poem out loud. A few of my favorites include “The Old Man,” and “I Kissed Her.” Here is one I feel would be wonderful to recite daily…
Be Happy
Endeavour to be happy every day
To look for beauty in dewy mornings, silent and early,
And when you see yourself in a mirror, wash your face with water
To take off the difficult moments and old hazes.
Think about love, for it is the beauty of your soul,
It will warm you up while the cold wind is blowing.
Through storms walk upright with a smile on your face
And that which you have for yourself, give to everybody freely.
Having written poetry in the past, I feel inspired to write again after reading this book of poems.
I’d like to thank Mr. Stjepan Cobets for sharing a copy with me and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. 5 Stars
Interview with author Stjepan Varesevac Cobets
Twogalsandabook: Did you always want to be an author?
Stjepan Cobets: My honest answer is no. I started to write spontaneously, I just wanted to translate my thoughts on paper. Eventually, I fell in love with writing and whenever I caught the free time, I wrote.
Twogalsandabook: What inspired you to write this book?
Stjepan Cobets: The inspiration for this book I discovered a part of in my thoughts, and the second part all around me in nature, in other people, anywhere where I felt it necessary to write something.
Twogalsandabook: At what age did you start writing?
Stjepan Cobets: The first poem I wrote at age 14.
Twogalsandabook: Are there any specific writers and poets that inspire you?
Stjepan Cobets: I think the poetry my first inspiration was a Croatian poet Tin Ujevic, from foreign poet Pablo Neruda, Sergei Yesenin and Edgar Allan Poe. There are a lot of writers and poets who were my inspiration, but I wanted to create my own style and write from the soul.
Twogalsandabook: Have you written anything else?
Stjepan Cobets: I still write science fiction, fables, and fairy tales.
Twogalsandabook: Is there anything you’re working on now?
Stjepan Cobets: I currently translate my science fiction novel “Dream of the forest” I translate my third collection of poetry “Flaming horses,” I’m writing a few short stories and I started to write a few science fiction novels. But translation takes me a lot of my time, so my writing now a little stagnant.
Twogalsandabook: What ambitions do you have for your writing career?
Stjepan Cobets: I wish I could live off my writing and when my book published by a well-known publishing house. But it’s not the first place because in life there are many things that are much more important. Honestly, I’m happy that I was able to publish my book and what the readers like what I write. One thing is for sure I will continue to write because I like it and fills me with satisfaction.
Twogalsandabook: Do you think your writing will stay in a specific genre?
Stjepan Cobets: I already write different genres. But for all genres are a common one thing and that is a good idea. From the basic ideas, it’s can be written, poem, novel or short story in any genre.
Twogalsandabook: Do you read a lot? What are some of your favorite books, genres, and authors?
Stjepan Cobets: Yes, I read a lot of books, from science fiction, fantasy, historical novels, classics; honestly, I do not know what genre I have not read. Some of my favourite book is: “The Lord of the Rings” J. R. R. Tolkien, “Dune” Frank Herbert, Charles Dickens “Oliver Twist and Great Expectations”, Leo Tolstoy “War and Peace”, Ivan Aralic “Slaves’ souls”, Mesa Selimovic “The Fortress”, Victor Marie Hugo “Les Miserables”, Erich Maria Remarque “Quiet on the Western Front” and I could list a whole page of writers and books I like.
Twogalsandabook: What was the most difficult part of writing the book? Was there anything that you deleted or altered?
Stjepan Cobets: The most difficult are to find an idea, as soon as you have the idea of a story; book or poem is slowly unraveling as a ball of wool with which to play a cat, sometimes this ball of wool is unwrapped to unexpected places. I do not know a writer who is not wiping, transmission parts of the book and throwing crumpled paper into the recycle bin, I have a lot of times transmission some of my poems but also sometimes have not changed a word.
Twogalsandabook: Did you have to do much research for the book, and have you studied books on composing poems or have you had any writing education?
Stjepan Cobets: Sometimes you have to do research and read because no previous knowledge cannot describe some things and give them real meaning. I must admit that I never studied books on composing poems and I don’t have writing education. Personally, I’d just started writing a poem and let the moment in which I was writing.
Twogalsandabook: Have you ever experienced writers block? If so, how do you deal with it?
Stjepan Cobets: Many times I have experienced that they cannot write a single rational sentence, if this happened to me, I just would not leave the diary aside. I’d let go and left to spend the night because tomorrow is a new day.
Twogalsandabook: Where is your favorite place to write? Do you have a favorite “writing” atmosphere?
Stjepan Cobets: Poems I wrote everywhere, at work, in a coffee shop, at home, etc. and I do not mind if the noise or not. For the book is a little different because there must be a lot more thinking, and for that, I need peace and good music.
Twogalsandabook: Do you have any advice for other novice or aspiring writers?
Stjepan Cobets: You must never give up and listen to your inner voice.
Twogalsandabook: In several of your poems, such as “In Me” and “Without A Title”, it sounds like you have a love of the outdoors, with the word pictures you have created. Do you enjoy time outside in activities such as gardening or hiking?
Stjepan Cobets: I love nature and sometimes I go with my family to the mountain. I am fortunate that in addition to my home I have a big garden where I grow olives, lemons, figs, almonds, walnuts, cherry, peach, pomegranate, and cherry. In addition, to planting more vegetables without pesticides and believe me, it is much tastier than what is sold in supermarkets.
Twogalsandabook: Several poems touch on the horrors of war, such as in “Feeling Of Reason”, “On The Leaden Legs Of A Soldier”, “The City Through Which The War Passed”, “The War”, “A Number” and “The Stamp Of Fate”. Did you have to fight at all in war? Did the Serbian/Bosnian wars in recent years hit close to home? Was the area in which you live impacted by the conflicts?
Stjepan Cobets: War is very little hit my hometown and the place where I live, but the first front line was 20 miles away. Although I was not for that stupid war, I was in the war and that long four years, and with that, I was wounded in the leg by shrapnel. I can only thank the dear God I’m alive. War is something that I would not wish anyone to experience in your life because war is the curse of the human race. Unfortunately, people do not learn from their past. But even then I never stopped writing poetry and all these poems are from that period except poems “The Stamp Of Fate”. This poem I wrote in 1985, the poem was written more as a reflection on the folly of wars that took place centuries ago.
Twogalsandabook: Do any of the poems that speak of love, friendship and relationships have a personal story to them?
Stjepan Cobets: Some have their own story, and some are purely my imagination.
Twogalsandabook: Is the poem “I Kissed Her” about an acquaintance or family member that had passed on?
Stjepan Cobets: For this poem inspired me poems poet Antun Gustav Matos:
Consolation In Hair
I watched you last night. Asleep. Sad. You dead.
In the fatal hall, in the flower idyl,
On the high death bed, in the candle lit agony,
Resolved to give you my life as sacrifice.
I did not cry. I did not. Astonished I stood
In the fatal hall, full of grand death,
In doubt that dark, clear, eyes
Are the ones from where better life shined for me.
Everything, but everything is dead: eyes, breath and hands,
Everything I wanted to bring to life with desperation
In a blind horror and in the passion of torment,
In the fatal hall, in thoughts of grey.
Only your hair was still alive
So it told me: Be still! In death one dreams.
Twogalsandabook: In “Under The Sign Of Gods” and “At The Flame Of The Candle” you seem to be on a quest for the truth. Do you think you have found it? Or is it a quest that never ends?
Stjepan Cobets: For the poets, the truth is constantly in question, some truths are found, and many truths are still in pursuit.
Twogalsandabook: In “My Memory Put To Sleep”, you talk of regrets. Do you have many? If so, what?
Stjepan Cobets: I have to admit I do not currently regret because everything I’ve done in my life were my decisions and it is impossible to go back in time to correct them. I guess that’s happened in everyone life, you have to live with your decisions been good ones or bad, and try not to repeat the bad ones.
Twogalsandabook: Who would you recommend to read this book?
Stjepan Cobets: To readers who sincerely love poetry.
Twogalsandabook: Is there anything you would like to add that we have not inquired?
Stjepan Cobets: I just want to add that I wish a pleasant reading for all who want to read my poetry.
Twogalsandabook: Are there any social media platforms or websites that readers could connect with you on?
Stjepan Cobets: They can find me on Goodreads and Facebook
About the Author:
I was born 12.09.1965 in Split, Croatia. I live and work in Kastel Sucurac, where I finished my elementary and secondary schooling. At a very young age, I started reading. I loved it because, through books, I travelled to places I could never visit in person. As a child, I loved fairy tales and adventure, but later I discovered other genres. When I found a Jules Verne book in the library, I became fascinated by science fiction. I’ve written poetry for fifteen years, and later started writing science fiction. Lately, I’ve written children’s fairy tales and fables. I’ve published, in Croatia, “An Opened Heart” in 2002, “The Sleepy Way” in 2005, and “Love” in 2006. On Amazon I have published the poetry collections “The Child of Happiness” in 2015, science fiction novel “Godeena” in 2015, the science fiction short story “Butterfly” in 2016, and the poetry collection “When the moon takes over the dream: Love Poetry” in 2016.
Two Gals and a Book 
Great reviews! I like the poems each of you presented. Now I’ll have to go find a copy for myself! 🙂
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We thank you so much, Todd. Hope you enjoy the book! 🙂
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