The latest issue of the literary journal Literaturnaya Gazeta published by the Union of Russian Writers features a selection of Macedonian poetry translated by Olga Pankina, poet and manager of the Macedonian Culture Center in Moscow.
The feature presents the work of poets who came onto the Macedonian literary scene in the 1970s and '80s: Eftim Kletnikov, Vele Smilevski, Sande Stojcevski, Risto Lazarov, Rade Siljan, Katica Kjulafkova, Slave Gjorgjo Dimoski, Vera Cejkovska, Milos Lindro, Branko Cvetkoski, Vesna Acevska, and Bratislav Taskovski.
The introduction to the poems says that Macedonia is the cradle of Slavic literature and describes Macedonian poetry as lush and varied in its thematic and stylistic features.
"The classic Macedonian authors Koco Racin, Blaze Koneski, Slavko Janevski, Aco Sopov, Gane Todorovski, and Mateja Matevski are well-known in Russia," the journal writes. "The time has come to present the Russian readership with the work of a generation that has been widely translated, praised, and awarded internationally."
Literaturnaya Gazeta is Russia's longest-running literary journal. It was founded in 1830 by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and reintroduced in 1929 at the proposal of Maxim Gorky.
The weekly journal publishes articles covering literature, culture, and society topics, regularly devoting space to literature in translation.
