Nikola Madzirov (North Macedonia)

Nikola Madzirov is a poet and translator from North Macedonia. He has said that he is ‘a descendant of refugees against his will‘, which refers to his ancestors’ fleeing during Balkan wars in the beginning of 20th century. His poems hold an air of homelessness or non-belonging, although at the same time they are rooted. Madzirov’s poems have been translated into more than 30 languages, in Estonian his collection of selected poems „Valgus ja tolm“ (Light and Dust) was published in 2016.

When asked what the game limits are, Nikola Madzirov answered.

‘For five decades I’ve been living in a town among three state borders constructed by changing history and by the flags torn by the wind and wars. It’s the ideal place where one can understand the temporariness of the absolutistic myths, a place where one can touch the silence of the urge for non-belonging. As a child I would go on the top of the Belasica mountain, where the borders of the three states meet, and I would run in circles watching how my shadow crosses the three borders and comes back to my body, safe and tired. What scares me now is the world’s game with the borders. I can see how the shadows of the tanks are crossing them, scarring our trust in time.‘

Nikola Madzirov performs at the event Poetry Party With The Lyrical Self in the rooms and the courtyard of the culture club Salong on Saturday, May 14th at 7 p.m.