The festival began in 1961 in
Struga, then
People's Republic of Macedonia with Macedonian poets only, while in 1963 it expanded its list of participants with poets from all around the former
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[1][2] The
Miladinov Brothers Award was established for the best poetry book published between two consecutive festivals, which became the most important national poetry award.[3] By 1966 the event turned into an international
cultural festival. The Golden Wreath international award was established in the same year and its first recipient was
Robert Rozhdestvensky. In 2003, in close cooperation with
UNESCO, the Festival established another international award called The Bridges of Struga, for a best debut poetry book by a young author. 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.
A point of interest is that the festival often awarded foreign poets who were considered
dissidents in their countries, including for example the Russian exiled poet Joseph Brodsky, the
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, the American
beatnikAllen Ginsberg, the
Soviet bardBulat Okudzhava and many others.
In memory of the laureates, the Park of Poetry featuring memorial boards dedicated to each of them was established near the Struga Cultural Center.
Organization
The festival has offices in
Struga and in
Skopje (an office director, an executive and a technical secretary) and is organized by a Festival Board, which consists of knowledgeable professionals in the field of poetry (poets, literary critics, translators, and professors in
comparative literature and culture).[citation needed]
Events
The festival consists of several events held at different locations:[citation needed]
Opening ceremony on the plateau in front of the Cultural Centre in
Struga including a traditional reading of Taga za Jug (
Macedonian language: Т’га за југ, A Longing for The South),[4] the famous nostalgic lyrical poem written by the Struga-born poet
Konstantin Miladinov during his life in
Imperial Russia.
Meridijani (Меридијани, Meridians) a poetry reading by various international poets in the Cultural Centre following the opening ceremony.
Portret na Laureatot (Портрет на Лауреатот, Portrait of the Lauerate) an event devoted to the year's main award recipient traditionally held in the church of
St. Sofia in the nearby city of
Ohrid usually accompanied by
classical music,
opera or domestic or foreign
ethnic music performance.
Noći bez interpukcija (Ноќи без интерпукција, Nights without Punctuation)
multimedia artistic events featuring experimental forms of poetic presentations, which can also include other arts like music and
video art.
Mostovi (Мостови, Bridges) the closing ceremony held at the Bridge of Poetry on the river
Drim in Struga including poetry readings and the awarding ceremony.
Other events include workshops, round-table discussions on various social topics and their influence on poetry, etc.
Another event in the so-called Caravan of Poetry, which consists of poetry performances around the country. Usually, after the end of the Festival, the Festival also organizes poetry readings in the national capital,
Skopje.
Awards
Zlaten Venec na Poezijata (Златен Венец на Поезијата, Golden Wreath of Poetry), 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.
Brakja Miladinovci (Браќа Миладиновци, Miladinov Brothers Award), the main national poetry award, for a best book published between two editions of the festival.[3]
The Bridges of Struga, for a best debuting author.
Iselenička gramota, for poets from the Macedonian
diaspora.