Blaže Koneski Biography

Blaze Koneski was a famous Macedonian poet, writer, literary translator, and linguistic scholar. He was the author of the fundamental works of the Macedonian language and defined its grammar, dictionary, as well as history. He was a keen learner since childhood and developed a special interest in literature from an early age. After studying medicine for a brief period, he realized that he wanted to become a literary artist and changed his major to Serbian language and literature. He wrote poetry and prose, and also became a distinguished translator of German, Russian, Slovenian, Serbian as well as Polish poetry. After the liberation of Macedonia, he rose to become one of the most prominent figures of the Macedonistics. He served as a university professor and institutionally organized comprehensive study of the Macedonian language, its history and its dialects and principles of standardization. He took part in many activities in the area of education and culture, as well as in the founding of the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. He served as the first president of the ‘Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts’ and was also a member of several foreign academies. He is most remembered as a prominent member of the committee for standardization of the Macedonian literary language and its most outstanding representative