The Struga Poetry Evenings tradition started in 1962 with a series of public readings by Macedonian poets in honor of the two brothers, Konstantin and Dimitar Miladinov, great intellectuals, teachers, and writers, who were born in Struga at the beginning of 19th century. Konstantin Miladinov is considered the founder of modern Macedonian poetry and each year the festival officially opens with his memorable poem “Longing for the South” (“T’ga za jug”) written during his student days in Moscow.
By 1966, the Struga Poetry Evenings became an international poetry event and The Golden Wreath was established as an annual award given to one living poet for life achievement in the field of poetry.
In 2003 a close cooperation was established between the Struga Poetry Evenings and UNESCO to promote a new award called The Bridges of Struga for the best first book of poetry published in the previous year. Entries are accepted from around the world.
The festival also features two multimedia events (poetry, music and video) called Nights without Punctuation, which open the festival up to new, experimental forms of creative expression.
During its fifty year existence the festival has hosted over 4,000 poets, translators, essayists and literary critics from 95 countries around the world.
The festival publishes an annual series of books in order to promote world poetry among Macedonian readers. It also publishes thematic anthologies of contemporary Macedonian poetry in English translation for readers abroad. These editions include the famous series “Pleiades”, featuring famous poets from all over the world.
This year’s poet laureate of the Struga Poetry Evenings is the famous Macedonian poet Mateja Matevski. In addition to being an exceptional poet, Mateja is also well-known as a translator of world famous Spanish poetry.
The festival runs from 24-30 August. The major parts of the programme are listed below.
Struga Poetry Evenings Programme
25 August
11:00 Opening of the of the Miladinov Brothers Memorial House
Venue: The Miladinov Brothers home in Stuga
21:00 Solemn opening of the 50th annual Struga Poetry Evenings with a musical recitation of Longing for the South by the tenor Blagoj Nacoski.
Venue: In front of the House of Poetry
00:00 Night Without Punctuation
Introduction of Hiroshi Tanuchi, a Japanese poet, award winner for the best debut volume of poetry.
Music and poetry performance by young poets from Macedonia and abroad
Venue: The bridge over the river Drim
26 August
21:30 Promotion of the French edition “Golden Book about Struga” dedicated to SPE
Venue: The bridge over the river Drim
22:30 Macedonian Contemporary Poetry Evening
Venue: The bridge over the river Drim
00:00 Night Without Interpunction
Haiku poetry evening
Music and poetry performance by young poets of Macedonia and abroad
Venue: The bridge over the river Drim
27 August
21:00 Portrait of the Golden Wreath Winner for 2011, Mateja Matevski
Venue: The Cathedral Church “St. Sofia,” Ohrid
00:00 Night Without Punctuation
Music and poetry performance by young poets of Macedonia and abroad
Venue: The bridge over the river Drim
28 August
15:30 In Vino Veritas: choosing the best poem dedicated to wine
20:30 Bridges, International poetry meeting and presentation of awards:
The Golden Wreath, Miladinovci Brothers and Bridges of Struga
29 August
10:00 Poetry on the Way: The poets visit other cities and towns of Macedonia
30 August
13:00 Matinee of poetry in Matka
Venue: St. Andreja Monastery, Matka
21:00 International Poetry Meeting
Venue: Suli-An, Skopje
Information
In Struga:
Memorial Home of Brothers Miladinovci
6330 Struga
Republic of Macedonia
(t) +389 (0)46 786 270
(f) +389 (0)46 786 280
In Skopje:
Struga Poetry Evenings
quay Dimitar Vlahov bb
Youth Cultural Centre
1000 Skopje
Republic of Macedonia
(t/f) +389 (0)2 3228 345
(e) struga@svp.org.mk
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