Struga Poetry Evenings

Aug 24 2024
Southwestern


Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) (Macedonian: Струшки вечери на поезијата, СВП; tr. Struški večeri na poezijata, SVP) is an international poetry festival held annually in Struga, Republic of Macedonia. 62nd edition of the festival is planned from 24 to 28 of August 2023. During the several decades of its existence, the Festival has awarded its most prestigious award, the Golden Wreath, to some of the most notable international poets, including: Mahmoud Darwish, Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan Agyey , W. H. Auden, Joseph Brodsky, Allen Ginsberg, Bulat Okudzhava, Pablo Neruda, Eugenio Montale, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Artur Lundkvist, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Nichita Stănescu, Ted Hughes, Makoto Ooka, Miroslav Krleža, Yehuda Amichai, Seamus Heaney and domestic authors such as Blaže Koneski and Mateja Matevski.


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The festival began in 1961 in Struga. By 1966 the event turned into an international cultural festival. The Golden Wreath international award was established. Golden Wreath (Златен венец), the main international award given to a world renowned living poet for life achievement in the field of poetry. The recipient’s name is publicized usually several months in advance. Miladinov Brothers Award (Браќа Миладиновци) for a best book published between two festivals. Bridges of Struga, for debutant book (together with UNESCO).


Besides festival events and activities, in past 61 year Struga Poetry Evenings developed extensive publishing activity. Struga Poetry Evenings each year publish representational book of poetry by the winner of the award Golden Wreath in the original language and translated in Macedonian. During its long successful existence, the festival has hosted about 4,000 poets, translators, essayists and literary critics from about 95 countries of the world. In memory of the laureates, the Park of Poetry featuring memorial boards dedicated to each of them was established near the Struga Cultural Center.


The festival consists of several events held at different locations. Opening ceremony on the plateau in front of the Cultural Centre in Struga including a traditional reading of A Longing for The South (Macedonian language: Т’га за југ) the famous nostalgic lyrical poem written by the Struga-born poet Konstantin Miladinov during his life in Imperial Russia. Meridians (Меридијани) a poetry reading by various international poets in the Cultural Centre following the opening ceremony.

PROGRAM OF THE 62nd STRUGA POETRY EVENINGS FOR 2023

 

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