Skopje, 13 March 2026 (MIA) — The Macedonian Writers Association will host a multilingual reading of Mateja Matevski’s "The Firefly Cycle," featuring translations in 17 languages produced by local university students.

The project began last fall at the state university's Blazhe Koneski Faculty of Philology. During October and November, 90 students, instructors and lecturers took part in a translation workshop focused on the "Firefly" poems published in Matevski’s 1977 collection "Circle."

The workshop resulted in a new multilingual edition — available in both print and digital formats — featuring translations in Albanian, Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish and Turkish.

The event coincides with the birthday of Matevski, who lived from 1929 to 2018 and remains one of the country’s most influential poets.

"Student translators will present the poems of one of the most important Macedonian poets and translators," organizers said ahead of the reading. 

Matevski's poetry has been translated into more than 60 languages. He was also a dedicated translator himself, introducing Macedonian readers to major works of Spanish and French literature.

The "Firefly Cycle" project was coordinated by professor Katarina Gjurchevska Atanasovska and senior lecturer Valentina Miloshevikj Simonovska.

The reading is part of a series of events marking the Faculty of Philology's 80th anniversary. mr/