The central event of the 54th Kozara Literary Meetings was held with a Poetry Hour at Mrakovica. This year’s laureate is Drago Kekanović, a Serb prose writer from Zagreb.
The Kozara Literary Meetings are among the most important annual literary events in Republika Srpska dedicated to poetry, attracting younger generations as well and giving them an opportunity to meet writers.
“I love poetry, Serbian is one of my favorite school subjects, and I really enjoyed this,” said Viktorija Vrućinić, a student at Petar Kočić Elementary School in Prijedor.
This year’s recipient of the “Kozara Literary Wreath” award is Drago Kekanović, a Serb writer from Zagreb.
During his extensive literary and professional career, Kekanović worked as an editor and dramaturge at Zagreb Television, as well as for several prominent publications and cultural institutions.
“We who write rarely have an opportunity to meet the people who read us. Poets have a great advantage over us in that respect, and I envy them, because there is nothing more beautiful than looking at the faces of people who follow you and listen to your words,” Kekanović said.
Jovan Delić, president of the jury for the Skender Kulenović Kozara Wreath award, said that Kekanović had convincingly earned the recognition through his body of work.
“We held three sessions and had many outstanding candidates from across the Serb cultural space,” Delić said.
This year’s Literary Meetings began on September 2, the birthday of Skender Kulenović, and featured a total of 11 events.
“This year, we brought together youth and experience. We have four very young poets and four poets from the middle generation,” said Zoran Baroš, cultural adviser to the mayor in the Prijedor City Administration.
The Kozara Literary Meetings concluded at the Sreten Stojanović Gallery with a presentation of the work of this year’s laureate, Drago Kekanović.
Source: RTRS
