Ethnic Macedonian Literature
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Macedonian literature ( mk, македонска книжевност) begins with the
Ohrid Literary School The Ohrid Literary School or Ohrid- ''Devol'' Literary school was one of the two major cultural centres of the First Bulgarian Empire, along with the Preslav Literary School ( Pliska Literary School). The school was established in Ohrid (in what i ...
in the
First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...
(nowadays
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
) in 886. These first written works in the dialects of the
Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
were religious. The school was established by St.
Clement of Ohrid Saint Clement of Ohrid ( Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian: Свети Климент Охридски, ; el, Ἅγιος Κλήμης τῆς Ἀχρίδας; sk, svätý Kliment Ochridský; – 916) was one of the first medieval Bulgarian ...
. The Macedonian
recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from Latin ''recensio'' ("review, analysis"). In textual criticism (as ...
at that time was part of the
Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
and it did not represent one regional dialect but a generalized form of early Eastern South Slavic. The standardization of Macedonian in the 20th century provided good ground for further development of the modern Macedonian literature and this period is the richest one in the history of the literature itself.


History

Macedonian was not officially recognized until the establishment of Macedonia as a constituent republic of communist Yugoslavia in 1945.
Krste Petkov Misirkov Krste Petkov Misirkov ( bg, Кръсте (Кръстьо) Петков Мисирков; mk, Крсте Петков Мисирков, ; 18 November 1874 – 26 July 1926) was a philologist, journalist, historian and ethnographer from the regio ...
in his ''Za Makedonskite raboti'' (1903; ''On the Macedonian Matters'') and in the literary periodical ''Vardar'' (established 1905) helped to create the foundations of Macedonian language and literature. These efforts were continued after World War I by Kosta Racin, who wrote mainly poetry in Macedonian and propagated its use through the literary journals of the 1930s. Racin's poems in ''Beli mugri'' (1939; White Dawns), which include many elements of oral folk poetry, were prohibited by the government of pre-World War II Yugoslavia. Some writers, such as
Kole Nedelkovski Kole Nedelkovski ( Bulgarian and mk, Коле Неделковски) was a Macedonian revolutionary and poet,Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( mk, Македонска Академија на Науките и Уметностите, МАНУ) is an academic institution in North Macedonia. History The Academy of Sciences and Arts was establ ...
divides Macedonian literature into three large periods, which are subdivided into additional ones. The periods of the Macedonian literature are: * Old Macedonian literature''literary works of the Macedonian recension'' – 9th to 18th centuries ** From introduction of the Christianity till the Turkish invasion – 9th to 14th centuries ** From Turkish invasion till the beginning of the 18th century * New Macedonian literature – 1802 to 1944 ** period of national awakening ** revolutionary period ** inter-war literary period * Modern Macedonian literature – 1944 – today


Modern literature

After World War II, under the new Yugoslav
SR Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
, the scholar
Blaze Koneski Blaze may refer to: People * Blaze (given name), a list of people with the name * Blaze (surname), a list of people with the name * Blaze Bayley, stage name of English singer and former Wolfsbane and Iron Maiden vocalist Bayley Alexander Cooke ...
and others were charged with the task of standardizing Macedonian as the official literary language. With this new freedom to write and publish in its own language, SR Macedonia produced many literary figures in the postwar period. The Association of Writers of Macedonia was established in 1947. Poetry was represented in the work of
Aco Šopov Aco Šopov ( mk, Ацо Шопов ; 1923 in Štip – 1982 in Skopje) was a Macedonian poet. He was considered one of the most important poets of Yugoslavia. He took part in World War II in Yugoslavia (1941–45) and his poems written at the tim ...
,
Slavko Janevski Slavko Janevski (January 11, 1920, Skopje - January 20, 2000) was a Macedonian poet, prose and script writer. He was also active as a comics artist.Tomislav Osmanli„Razvojot na stripot vo Makedonija – sedum decenii stripovno tvoreštvo“ ' ...
, Blaze Koneski, and
Gane Todorovski Dragan "Gane" Todorovski (11 May 1929 – 22 May 2010) was a Macedonian poet, translator, essayist, literary critic, and historian, publicist. Biography Graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy, University SS. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, ...
. Janevski was also a distinguished prose writer and the author of the first Macedonian novel, ''Selo zad sedumte jaseni'' (1952; “The Village Beyond the Seven Ash Trees”). His most ambitious work was a cycle of six novels that deals with Macedonian history and includes ''Tvrdoglavi'' (1965; “The Stubborn Ones”), a novel articulating the Macedonian people's myths and legends of remembering and interpreting their history. Prewar playwrights, such as Vasil Iljoski, continued to write, and the theatre was invigorated by new dramatists, such as
Kole Cašule Kole Weathers is a fictional superheroine in DC Comics. She is a former member of the Teen Titans. Fictional character biography Professor Abel Weathers, paranoid of an impending nuclear holocaust, was attempting to find a way for humanity to ...
,
Tome Arsovski Tome Arsovski (23 September 1928 – 22 April 2007) was a Macedonian dramatist. He was born in Kosovska Mitrovica. He studied Slavistics at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital an ...
, and
Goran Stefanovski Goran Stefanovski ( mk, Горан Стефановски; 27 April 1952 – 27 November 2018) was a leading Macedonian dramatist, screenwriter, essayist, lecturer and public intellectual. He wrote for the theatre, television and film, as well as ...
. Cašule also wrote several novels. A main theme of his work is the defeat of idealists and idealism. His play ''Crnila'' (1960; “Black Things”) deals with the early 20th-century murder of an
IMRO The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
leader by other Organization's activists and with the characters of both executioners and victim. Among the best-known novelists and writers of prose were Stale Popov (''Krpen zivot'' (1953; “Darned life”)),
Gjorgji Abadžiev Gjorgji is a Macedonian given name and may refer to: * Gjorgji Abadžiev (1910–1963), Macedonian prosaist and publicist * Gjorgji Čekovski (born 1979), Macedonian professional basketball player *Gjorgji Hristov Georgi Hristov (Macedonian lang ...
(''Pustina'' (1961; “Desert”)) and Zivko Cingo, whose collections of stories Paskvelija (1962) and ''Nova Paskvelija'' (1965; “New Paskvelija”) are about an imaginary land where clashes and interactions between old traditions and revolutionary consciousness are enacted. His novel ''Golemata voda'' (1971; “The Great Water”), set in an orphanage, shows the grandness and sadness of childhood. Other notable writers include Petre M. Andreevski (''Pirej'' (1980; “Pirej”)),
Vlada Uroševic Vlada is a Slavic given name, derived from the word ''vlada'' meaning "rule". It is a masculine name in Serbia and feminine name in Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria and Russia. It may refer to: *Vlada Avramov (born 1979), Serbian footballer * ...
(''Sonuvacot i prazninata'' (1979; “The Dreamer and the Emptiness”)),
Jovan Pavlovski Jovan may refer to: *Jovan (given name), a list of people with this given name *Jovan, Mawal, a village on the western coastal region of Maharashtra, India * Jōvan Musk, a cologne *Deli Jovan, a mountain in eastern Serbia *Róbert Jován (born 196 ...
(''Sok od prostata'' (1991; “Prostate Gland Juice”)), Venko Andonovski (''Papokot na svetot'' (2000; “Navel of the World”)), Aleksandar Prokopiev (''Covekot so cetiri casovnici'' (2003; “The Man With Four Watches”)), and some of the leading playwrights were Jordan Plevnes (''Mazedonische zustände'' (1979; “Mazedonische zustände”)), Sashko Nasev (''Chija si'' (1991; “Who do you Belong to”)), and
Dejan Dukovski Dejan (Cyrillic: Дејан) is a Serbian names, Serbian masculine given name, derived from the Slavic verb ''dejati'', meaning "to act, to do". The name and the derived surname Dejanović are common among South Slavs. The name is first recorded ...
(''Bure barut'' (1996; “The powder keg”)). The diversity of themes and narrative styles among 21st-century writers has grown even more, and the list includes writers born in the period 1970s–1990s. Some of the most distinguished in this generation are: Goce Smilevski (''Sestrata na Sigmund Frojd'' (2007; “Freud's Sister”)),
Lidija Dimkovska Lidija Dimkovska (Macedonian: , born 1971) is a Macedonian poet, novelist and translator. She was born in Skopje and studied comparative literature at the University of Skopje. She proceeded to obtain a PhD in Romanian literature at the Universi ...
(''Rezerven zivot'' (2012; “A Spare Life”)), Slavcho Koviloski (''Sinot na kralot'' (2011; “The Son of the King”)),
Nikola Madzirov Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montene ...
(''Ostatoci od nekoe drugo vreme'' (2007; “Remnants of Another Age”)),
Stefan Markovski Stefan Markovski (Macedonian: Стефан Марковски) is a contemporary Macedonian writer, screenwriter, poet, philosopher and translator. Biography Markovski was born in Gevgelija in 1990, where he finished his primary and secondary edu ...
(''Anatomija na bumbarot'' (2020; “The Bumblebee Anatomy”)), Rumena Bužarovska (''Mojot maz'' (2014; “My Husband”)), Petar Andonovski (''Teloto vo koe mora da se zivee'' (2015; “The Body One Must Live In”)), Nenad Joldeski (''Sekoj so svoeto ezero'' (2012; “Each with Their Own Lake”)), and others.


Authors

Some of the well-known authors that contributed in the development of the Macedonian literature are: *
Krste Misirkov Krste Petkov Misirkov ( bg, Кръсте (Кръстьо) Петков Мисирков; mk, Крсте Петков Мисирков, ; 18 November 1874 – 26 July 1926) was a philologist, journalist, historian and ethnographer from the regio ...
''Considered/self-identified his language and himself as Bulgarian.'' – ''writer'' – ''writer, Slavist and philologist'' *
Aco Šopov Aco Šopov ( mk, Ацо Шопов ; 1923 in Štip – 1982 in Skopje) was a Macedonian poet. He was considered one of the most important poets of Yugoslavia. He took part in World War II in Yugoslavia (1941–45) and his poems written at the tim ...
– ''poet and writer'' * Gjorgjija Pulevski – ''writer and political activist'' *
Gane Todorovski Dragan "Gane" Todorovski (11 May 1929 – 22 May 2010) was a Macedonian poet, translator, essayist, literary critic, and historian, publicist. Biography Graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy, University SS. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, ...
– ''writer and poet'' * Ante Popovski – ''writer and poet'' *
Kočo Racin Kosta Apostolov Solev ( Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian and bg, Коста Апостолов Солев; 22 December 1908 – 13 June 1943), primarily known by his pen name Kočo Racin ( Macedonian, Bulgarian and sh, Кочо Рацин), was a ...
– ''writer and poet'' *
Kole Nedelkovski Kole Nedelkovski ( Bulgarian and mk, Коле Неделковски) was a Macedonian revolutionary and poet,Risto Krle Risto Krle ( mk, Ристо Крле, ; September 3, 1900 – October 29, 1975) (born in Struga, present-day North Macedonia during the Ottoman Empire) was a Macedonian playwright and the son of a shoe maker. Many interruptions made his sc ...
– ''writer'' *
Venko Markovski Venko Markovski ( Bulgarian and mk, Венко Марковски), born Veniamin Milanov Toshev (March 5, 1915 in Skopje – January 7, 1988 in Sofia) was a Bulgarian and Macedonian writer, poet, partisan and Communist politician. Biography B ...
– ''poet'' * Vlado Maleski – ''writer'' * Vojdan Chernodrinski – ''writer'' *
Vasil Iljoski Vasil Iljoski ( mk, Васил Иљоски, (December 20, 1902 - November 1, 1995) was a Macedonian writer, dramatist, professor and an important figure in Macedonian literature, especially in Macedonian drama between the two World Wars. Bio ...
– ''writer'' * Anton Panov – ''writer'' *
Mateja Matevski Mateja Matevski (13 March 1929 – 6 June 2018) was a Macedonian poet, literary and theater critic, essayist, and translator. Career Matevski was born on 13 March 1929 in Istanbul, Turkey to an Albanian family of the Eastern Orthodox rite. His ...
– ''poet'' *
Blaže Koneski Blaže Koneski ( mk, Блаже Конески; 19 December 1921 – 7 December 1993) was a Macedonian poet, writer, literary translator, and linguistic scholar. His major contribution was to the codification of standard Macedonian. He is the key ...
– ''writer'' * Simon Drakul – ''writer'' * Gogo Ivanovski – ''writer'' * Ivan Tochko – ''writer'' *
Petar Shirilov Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. ...
– ''writer'' * Tashko Georgievski – ''writer'' *
Slavko Janevski Slavko Janevski (January 11, 1920, Skopje - January 20, 2000) was a Macedonian poet, prose and script writer. He was also active as a comics artist.Tomislav Osmanli„Razvojot na stripot vo Makedonija – sedum decenii stripovno tvoreštvo“ ' ...
– ''writer'' *
Živko Čingo Živko Čingo (also spelt Zhivko Chingo) (13 August 1935 – 11 August 1987) Macedonian writer, born in Velgosti, near Ohrid, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Biography He studied literature at the University of Sts Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. He w ...
– ''writer'' *
Grigor Prličev Grigor Stavrev Parlichev (also spelled Prlichev, Parlitcheff or Prličev; bg, Григор Ставрев Пърличев; gr, Γρηγόριος Σταυρίδης, translit=Grigorios Stavrides, mk, Григор Прличев) was a Bulgar ...
: More...


See also

*
Macedonian language Macedonian (; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken as a first language by around two million ...
* History of the Macedonian language


Notes


References

* ''Makedonska književnost'' (“Macedonian Literature”). Tome Sazdov, Vera Stojčevska-Antić, Dragi Stefanija, Georgij Stalev, Borislav Pavlovski. Školska knjiga. Zagreb, 1988. (in )


External links


Macedonian literature from 14 c.
{{Literature of Europe