Skopje, 23 August 2024 (MIA) — After it opened Thursday evening with speeches by high government officials and renowned Macedonian poets, followed by an international poetry reading, the 63rd Struga Poetry Evenings festival continues Friday with book launches and readings dedicated to its award winners for 2024, MIA's Struga correspondent reports.

At separate events during the day, festival organizers will present the poetry of Katrin Pitz, this year's winner of the festival's UNESCO-sponsored Bridges of Struga international award for a debut poetry collection; Katica Kjulavkova, the winner of the Miladinov Brothers award for best poetry book published in Macedonian in 2023; and Filipa Sara Popova, winner of the EU Delegation-sponsored Young Struga award for best unpublished first book of poems.

There will also be a poetry reading by poets shortlisted for the Miladinov Brothers award as well as a book launch for the Miladinov Brothers award-winning collection in translation. The SPE will also host a book launch for an anthology titled "From Poets to Poets".

On Saturday, participants will read at the Kalishta monastery complex. There will be an event promoting Swedish poet Bengt Berg's selected poetry translated into Macedonian. 

Also, organizers will announce the winner of the Emigration Agency-sponsored Stojan Hristov award for best book by a Macedonian poet living abroad. 

The traditional Poetic Portrait reading in honor of the Golden Wreath winner will take place at St. Sofia church in Ohrid, this year dedicated to French poet Jean-Pierre Siméon.

The opening ceremony on Thursday evening, in addition to Minister of Culture and Tourism Zoran Ljutkov, was attended by President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova.

In his speech, Ljutkov said the SPE festival was "a dynamic and living anthology of world poetry and the biggest promoter of Macedonian and contemporary world poetry."

He pledged that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with the support of the Government, would continue to promote universal civilizational and cultural values.

In his remarks, Macedonian poet Vele Smilevski said "the strength of poetry is in the insightful and persistent search for the meaning of life." 

"Poets are on a constant mission to find a new order where freedom and love will rule. That is why this tired and cruel world needs the eternal freshness of poetry on the way to, seemingly, the impossible," Smilevski said.

The festival ends on Sunday with the "Bridges" reading held on the Bridge of Poetry, where this year's award winners will be given their prizes. mr/