Interview "You understand why you are here, not there..."

Natalia Soboleva is a young poet. She writes poetry, is published in Russian poetic almanacs, releases literary collections, and recently published a new book titled String of the Soul. Natalia organizes poetry readings for lovers of Russian poetry and hosts exhibitions featuring Russian and French artists and photographers. These events take place in sunny Nice, France, where many compatriots now live. They gladly come to "Bard Evenings" to listen to poetry in Russian. Interviewer: Natalia, how did the idea of organizing poetry evenings come about? Did you ever doubt that anyone would be interested or respond? Natalia Soboleva: Honestly, I didn’t expect so many people to come to the first poetry evening. It happened quite by chance—a friend asked me to organize an event for her uncle, the writer Alexander Utkin from Saint Petersburg. She also asked if I would read my poems. We had guitar accompaniment as well. Naturally, I had no experience, but I agreed. I posted about it on my social media page, and unexpectedly over eighty people signed up. For Nice, where many interesting events happen daily, that’s quite a lot. Without any advertising, in just a week we gathered my first audience. It was surprising and unexpected that many who had read my poems online came in person, arriving an hour early to get acquainted. I had to manage the event organization and was met with a warm reception and genuine interest in learning more about me. I admit I only began to truly understand poetry and poets after I started writing poems myself. When I saw my finished collection, I realized even a book has a soul, carries a certain energy, and conveys a unique meaning the author puts into it. One woman left a special impression on me—after the event, she said: "Natalia, yesterday I was ready to give up on life, but by pure chance I ended up here... Your poetry, especially one poem, restored my will to live. I want to live again." After that, I took my hobby seriously and decided to continue writing. Interviewer: Did you start writing poetry as a child, or did the passion come later? Natalia Soboleva: I was always writing something as a child, but time was scarce because I was studying and working early, so poetry was mostly written late at night. My parents tried to limit my endless “nighttime vigils” when I was always scribbling something. In 2013, when I moved to the French Riviera with my family, I had more time; the wonderful climate and sun positively influenced me. But there was also stress from moving to a new country without knowing the language, with small children. Under that impression, I started writing again in the evenings, but I still didn’t take it seriously. That changed when someone strongly advised me to treat my creativity with more care and attention. After that, inspiration began to visit me daily. At first, it was one line, then two, and every day more and more. Encounters with people, overheard phrases, or feelings from these meetings turned into poetic lines. I write quickly, but some poems resonate only after several years. I’ve heard from readers that at first they understand my poems “with their head,” but later, after some life experience, they feel them “with their heart.” So, my poetry is something new and emotional for me and many of my readers—sometimes even answers to my own questions in the search for my true self. Interviewer: You moved and immediately started organizing cultural events—that’s quite bold! Natalia Soboleva: Not right away. At first, while learning the language, I wrote articles for magazines like Monaco, French Riviera, and Perspektiva. Then I started working at an elementary school, la Lanterne in Nice. Working in the library made a strong impression on me. I even wrote an article called “What Our Children Read.” They welcomed me warmly. On my first day, a colleague surprised me by pulling an enormous dusty volume of War and Peace off the shelf and said, “This is what we enjoy reading. The French adore Russian classics!” I also saw books like Baba Yaga with vivid illustrations on the shelves. My youngest son Roman, coming home excited from his French school, said: “Mom, now I know what real art is!” He told me about Kandinsky’s works they had studied that day. He didn’t know the word “abstraction” but understood it as a special kind of art. Once, French friends invited me and my children to the small town of Opio for Victory Day. After that, my older son Maxim said he hadn’t been a patriot and didn’t fully understand what it meant, but after hearing the mayor, Monsieur Thierry Occelli, speak about Russia and express special respect for us as the only Russian guests, he wanted to learn more and promised to read everything he could on the topic. We were warmly welcomed and our presence was noted with support and respect. Interviewer: After settling in and learning the language, what cultural events have you managed to organize in Nice? What interesting things have happened on the Riviera over the years? Natalia Soboleva: We organized two jazz concerts in collaboration with the Arte France Russie association in 2016. At the same time, I worked at the Russian Cultural Center at the Consulate in Monaco. Another bright experience was an interview on the Paris radio station IDFM’s program Dobry Tchas (“Good Hour”), where I talked about poetry, read my poems, and answered the host Anastasia Gai’s questions. After publishing one of my poems on social media, I received an amazing letter from the French director Jean-Louis Guillermou. By a remarkable coincidence, several lines in my poem described a whole scenario for his new film about the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, and later I was invited to act in the film. It was a great honor to join a cast including Alexey Dimitriadis as young Rachmaninoff, Gérard Depardieu as Zverev, Alex Slobodyanik as Rachmaninoff, Roberto Alagna as Chaliapin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Princess Liven, Jeremy Irons as Dmitry, Lydia Solomon as Natalia Satin, Valeria Kozhevnikova as Lana Dahl, and Estelle Greenspo as Katya. Then I met Alexandre Moix on his film Albatross, dedicated to the White émigrés and Russian filmmakers, which drew a full house and led to another coincidence. A few days later, French writer Philippe Lemaire contacted my cultural association, looking for material for his new book. He was surprised that I could answer all his questions in detail. He also said he was always amazed in Russia that anyone he met could discuss such subtle topics, whether art or literature. I made the same impression on him, unknowingly. He couldn’t believe that just days earlier I had prepared for our meeting after watching the film. His topic—the White émigrés (Russes blancs)—which he planned to write about, I now know very well. Interviewer: What is the name of your association, what are its goals, and what are your plans? Natalia Soboleva: It’s called Nathalie. The name of the Franco-Russian association Nathalie evokes many positive emotions among the French. Not just because it’s my name, but because Nathalie is a song by French singer Gilbert Bécaud that they love, and my association is named after it. It promotes friendship and cultural exchange between Russia and France. Living in Russia, my children and I didn’t know as much about our homeland as we’ve learned here—whether in school or events—and that’s very inspiring. Our goals are varied but all aimed at cultural cooperation and exchange. With my organization, we helped prepare for a conference as part of “Moscow Days” for the Department of National Policy and Interregional Relations and Tourism. Then I was invited to many events on the Riviera and in Paris. I also became a partner of the annual BAL DES TSARS ET DES TSARINES in Paris, held at the Cercle Interallié in the Hôtel Henri de Rothschild. I organized an exhibition of artist Lyudmila Varlamova, choosing two titles: French Letters and Air of France. The Phoenix Park in Nice supported the idea, but due to the quarantine, plans were postponed to autumn 2020 or spring of the next year. For the same reason, a photo exhibition by Vladimir Klavikho-Telepnev, invited by a French association in Nice, was canceled in spring. The president of the association is Mr. Dentinger Christophe, and we have cooperated closely for many years. We plan to organize Russia Days dedicated to the opening of the Consulate General of Russia’s Chancellery in Marseille on the French Riviera. The head of the Chancellery in Villefranche-sur-Mer is S.V. Oransky. We continue to pursue our goals and are preparing a large cultural event called Synergy — Photography and Poetry! Meeting the photographer Pedro Armestre was a delightful moment in my life. His famous photo of composer Ludovico Einaudi playing piano on the Arctic Ocean, filmed against the backdrop of a melting glacier in Svalbard, traveled the world. We are working on opening a poetry evening dedicated to contemplating natural beauty recreated in artworks and photographs. I believe such events awaken people’s desire to protect Nature, admire its beauty and wisdom. When people sometimes ask me why I need all this activity, as it causes me a lot of trouble, I want to answer with one line from my poem Infinity: “You understand why you are here, not there...”