The Greek literary magazine Hartis (Χάρτης, meaning “map”) published a portrait of the Macedonian linguist, writer, translator, poet and member of Macedonian Academy of Arts and Sciences, Blaže Koneski (1921-1993). The article, titled “Synaxaria” (Συναξάρια) was published in the June 2020 issue of the magazine and presents part of his life work.
The term synaxarion used in the title is derived from the word used for hagiographies of Orthodox Christian saints and martyrs, and presents a translation of the name of the poetic cycle by Koneski with a same figurative meaning (Приложни житија).
Writer and journalist Tomislav Osmanli was the first to break this news in the Macedonian public sphere on June 6, via much-shared Facebook post. He pointed that the article presents Koneski in a very favorable light, naming him “coryphaeus of the spiritual life in the neighboring North Macedonia.”
The Hartis article contains six poems by Koneski, translated into Greek from English because suitable Macedonian to Greek translators were unavailable to the magazine. Osmanli noted that the article ends with expression of hope that “soon, there would be translators who would put their efforts in recommending the works of Koneski into our country directly from the original.”
The translated poems were originally published in 1979 in the book “Old and new songs.”
As a scholar, Blaže Koneski is often lauded for his major contribution to the codification of standard Macedonian language.
