Poets

Nikola Madjirov (poet, essayist, translator) was born in 1973 in Strumica, in the family of war refugees from the Balkan Wars. When he was 18, the collapse of Yugoslavia prompted a shift in his sense of identity – as a writer reinventing himself in a country which felt new but was still nourished by deeply rooted historical traditions. His poems are translated into more than forty languages. For the book Relocated Stone (2007) was given the international Hubert Burda poetry award for the writers born in Central and East Europe and the most prestigious Macedonian poetry award Miladinov Brothers at Struga Poetry Evenings. Other recognitions include Studentski Zbor award for best poetry debut, the main international award at the Orpheus Poetry Festival in Plovdiv and Xu Zhimo Silver Leaf award for European poetry at King’s College, Cambridge in UK. American composer and collaborator of Björk and Lou Reed — Oliver Lake, the founder of “Snarky Puppy” — Michael League, together with Becca Stevens, have composed music based on Madjirov’s poems. He was granted several international fellowships: International Writing Program (IWP) at University of Iowa; DAAD in Berlin; Marguerite Yourcenar in France… Nikola Madjirov is one of the coordinators of the international poetry network Lyrikline, based in Berlin and editor in the literary magazine “Stremež”. He edited the Macedonian edition of the Anthology of World’s Poetry: XX and XXI Century and translated Louise Glück, Yehuda Amichai, Vasko Popa, Georgi Gospodinov, and many others. He was member of the jury for The Griffin International Poetry Prize 2023. He lives in Strumica.