Neža Rebernik Jamnik is a young poet and a student of comparative literature and literary theory. In October 2021, she published her second collection of poems entitled July. Her presentation took place at the Museum of Architecture and Design. The book contains 32 poems and is divided into 5 chapters: denial, anger, negotiation, sadness, and acceptance. Neža invited many young artists (from photographers, designers, stylists, MU artists, dancers …) to the project and tried to combine different types of art through the written word.

Unfortunately, time and society have brought us to the point where we are talking about the “death” of literature, but it is precisely this that teaches us throughout history what life is. We no longer live in times where the verses of Solomon and Strniš or the Sonnets of Jesih would be read on city buses. The world of the 21st century strives for (too) fast absorption of information.
Neža put herself in the role of a woman of our time and set herself the task of bringing poetry closer to people, expanding its spectrum of creation and, so to speak, “playing” with the visual arts themselves.

Over 15 really talented – young Slovenian artists took part in the project: photographer Taja Košir Popovič, Samantha Kandisky, Tjaša Barbo and photographer Jaka Mojškerc. Stylists Hana Podvršič and Nina Šušmelj. Dance group Urusdancers. Make-up artists Anja Kolenc and Nina Burazor. Hairstyle designer Noka Žujo. Fashion designer Ines Čeperlin, Anja Medle, Anita Miklavčič, Neža Knific, Vanja Peulić and designer Anže Mrak (all current or former NTF students).

In the collection, motifs of girls, women, identities, finding a place in the world, transience appear and are repeated, and the motif of a garden, one of paradise and one that I cultivate alone or in pairs, is also common. The songs talk about the importance of forgiveness, how to forgive ourselves first and then the people we love. In some places Neža compares herself to Medea, again in others to Antigone, thus questioning the position of women and their essence and significance for existence in the existence of society.

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Why the title July?
The collection is entitled Julius from a purely autobiographical point of view. At the same time, I also wrote the first song for July in the month of remembrance. I wrote it in a hotel room, but I stocked it somewhere and never found it again. The title seemed so simple and catchy to me at the same time. It was my first association about the title of the collection even before the whole process and purpose of this project was formed.

The role of imagination in the collection (link to the introductory words of the collection, where I write: Some words are true, others are not. Some people are real, others are not. Some events are real, others are not. Some thoughts are real, others are not).
I would say that one way or another, each author comes from his own position, beliefs, topics, motivations, etc. Many songs have a story behind them, a meaning or just a motif from my life. Of course, I didn’t reveal everything on a tray, I toyed with comparisons and metaphors. It seems to me that this is exactly the charm of poetry and the poems themselves – that something that is hidden from the readers remains in them.

The importance of the titles of each of these sets also introduces a quote from works of Slovenian and world literature or. in one case an Indian proverb.
The headlines themselves thus indicate the 5 psychological phases of forgiveness (denial, anger, negotiation, grief, and acceptance). Again, I got the idea to share the collection even before I really knew what I wanted and wanted from the very concept of the project. My life turned so that for the first time I realized the importance of forgiveness, its greatness and the gift that man has.
The quotes from Slovenian and world literature actually inspired me and were my motivation to write and create. They touched my fingers, activated them and helped me write all 32 songs in the collection today.

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Photo credits:
Photo: Taja Košir Popovič, Samantha Kandinsky, Jaka Mojškerc, Tjaša Barbo
Hair: nox. aesthetics by Noka
Makeup: Nina Burazor, Anja Kolenc
Stylists: Hana Podvršič, Nina Šušmelj
Fashion: Anja Medle, Neža Simčič, Anže Mrak, Vanja Peulić