Struga Poetry Evenings

The Miladinov Brothers Award

The Miladinov Brothers Award is given for best book of poetry published between two editions of the International Struga Poetry Evenings Festival. The Miladinov brothers, Dimitar and Konstantin are renowned humanists and writers and educationists from the 19 century, born in the city of Struga. The older one, Dimitar Miladinov, was a teacher and collector of popular songs and stories, and the younger one, Konstantin, is more famous as a poet. During his studies in Moscow he wrote the most famous romantic poem in the Macedonian language, “Longing for the South”. This poem has become a symbol of the Festival, which traditionally opens with its verses read in several languages. The Miladinov brother ended their lives tragically in the Ottoman prisons, sentenced unjustly for their cultural and educational mission among their people.

The Miladinov Brothers Award was established in 1963, and the best book is selected after a publicly announced competition by the SPE Award Committee. The award is the most significant poetry prize in the Republic of Macedonia, recognized as a national poetry award.

Winners of the national poetry award the “Miladinov Brothers”

1963 Mateja Matevski

1964 Ante Popovski

1965 Radovan Pavlovski

1966 Bogomil Guzel

1967 Vlada Urosevik

1968 Petre M.Andreevski

1969 Mile Nedelkoski

1970 Petar T.Boskovski

1971 Petre M.Andreevski

1972 Bogomil Gjuzel

1973 Vlada Urosevik

1974 Blaze Koneski

1975 Gane Todorovski

1976 Aco Sopov

1977 Atanas Vangelov

1978 Milovan Stefanovski

1979 Slavko Janevski

1980 Eftim Kletnikov

1981 Mateja Matevski

1982 Mihail Rendzov

1983 Adem Gajtani

1984 Todor Chalovski

1985 Liljana Dirjan

1986 Vlada Urosevik

1987 Petko Dabeski

1988 Slavko Janevski

1989 Katica Kulafkova

1990 Rade Siljan

1991 Risto Vasilevski

1992 Jordan Danilovski

1993 Branko Cvetkosk

1994 Petre Bakevski

1995 Ante Popovski

1996 Svetlana Hristova-Jocik

1997 Gligor Stojkovski

1998 Gordana Mihajlova Bosnakovska

1999 Jovan Koteski

2000 Slave Gorgjo Dimoski

2001 Sande Stojchevski

2002 Radovan Pavlovski

2003 Eftim Kletnikov

2004 Petko Dabeski

2005 Petar T. Boskovski

2006 Bratislav Tashkovski

2007 Nikola Madzjirov

2008 Risto Lazarov

2009 Vesna Acevska

2010 Vladimir Martinovski

2011 Vele Smilevski

Bridges of Struga Award

As a result of the initiative rising from the communique signed in 2003 between the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia and UNESCO, among other issues, a new award, “Bridges of Struga” was established. This award is given to a young poet from all over the world for a best first book of poetry, after a public competition issued by the Festival and the member states National Commission for UNESCO. A special selection, called “Bridges” is published, including the poetry of the award winner, and all the other competitors for the award. This selection includes poems in the mother tongue of the poets, and translations into Macedonian and into one of the major languages of the world.

Winners of the “Bridges of Struga” award for best first poetry book in the world

2004 Angelo V. Suarez (The Philippines)

2005 Andrea Cote (Colombia)

2006 Marianna Geide (Russian Federation)

2007 Manua Rime (Belgium)

2008 Antonija Novakovic (Croatia)

2009 Ousmane Sarr-Sarrouss (Senegal)

2010 Siim Kera (Estonia)

2011 Hirosi Taniuci (Japan)

Golden wreath Award

In 1966, the Struga Poetry Evenings have grown into an international poetry manifestation. The same year the international poetry award the “Golden wreath” award was established. This prestigious award is given to a world famous live poet for his poetry and his deed. It’s an award made entirely by hand. It has the shape of a wreath with filligrans and it is made from gold.

Recepients of the Golden wreath Award