The Presence of Portuguese Contemporary Poetry at the Struga Poetry Evenings

Lidija Kapusevska-Drakulevska

doi:10.53943/elcv.0119_11

Abstract

The idea of political union of a democratic Europe must be founded upon its cultural dimension. Poetry is a very important dimension of European civilization and an essential exercise of creative freedom for approximating individual human beings and countries. The topic of this paper will be the presence of Portuguese contemporary poetry at the Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE), an international poetry festival started in 1962. The SPE has a very significant role in reception and promoting the other literatures and cultures to the Macedonian authors and readership. The selection of Portuguese contemporary poetry at the SPE included several books: 1. The poetry of Vasco Graça Moura, the «Golden Wreath» Winner at the SPE (2004); 2. The selected poems of Casimiro de Brito (2006); 3. One anthology of the Portuguese contemporary poetry (2001). The literary translation has a very important mission: every Encounter with the Other creates a dialogue, but it also means Self-knowledge. This poetic «joint-venture» of Macedonia and Portugal (both with republican traditions in constructing the collective memory and history) through the SPE could be a good symbol: it does contribute to a long tradition of uniting the world through the word of the poets.

Highlights

[...] the inclusion of a representative of the Portuguese language and literature in the long list of the nominees for the Golden Wreath does contribute to a clearer and strong image of the multiplicity of identities which form Europe. [...] The idea of political union of a democratic Europe must be founded upon its cultural dimension. (2004: 6)
What is more, reading contemporary Portuguese poets in Macedonian offers the possibility of a relational interpretation of their poetry in one’s own linguistic/literary/cultural code
If we consider the intersections or correspondences in the titles of individual poems, such as Egito Gonçalves’ and Vlada Urošević’ «Aldeberan», or «Auto-de-fé» by both Paulo Teixeira and Macedonian poet Mihail Rendžov, it is obvious that poetic expression, as all works of art, is open to communication with all texts past and future in the established series of cognate relations

Summary

Introduction

The idea of political union of a democratic Europe must be founded upon its cultural dimension. A poesia de Vasco Graça Moura, o vencedor da «Coroa de Louros» no Festival de Poesia de Struga (2004), 2.

Results

Conclusion