THE NATIONAL LIBRARY MARKS 125 YEARS SINCE THE BIRTH OF DESANKA MAKSIMOVIĆ: FCA REPRESENTATIVES PARTICIPATED

/ / News / 8. 06. 2023.

On May 15, the Desanka Maksimović Foundation celebrated the 125th anniversary of Desanka Maksimović’s birth in the ceremonial hall of the National Library of Serbia. In the presence of state, religious, and cultural dignitaries, the introductory speech was given by academician and poet Ljubomir Simović, and the gathering was addressed by a representative of the Ministry of Culture, the director of the National Library of Serbia – Vladimir Pištalo – and the director of the Desanka Maksimović Foundation – Svetlana Šeatović. The artistic program was led by a third-year acting student from FCA Željana Nedeljković, with the scenario and direction of the program being signed by director and FCA professor Petar Stanojlović.

The program included: 

  • Prof. Petar Stanojlović – author of the scenario and director of the solemn academy;
  • Željana Nedeljković – acting student from FCA;
  • Children’s drama group of Radio Belgrade, led by Prof. Petar Stanojlović;
  • Ljubomir Simović – academician;
  • Dr. Svetlana Šeatović – director of the Desanka Maksimović Foundation;
  • Branislav Milakara – representative of the family of the great poetess;
  • Nebojša Milovanović – drama artist;
  • Students of Valjevo Gymnasium;
  • Mirjana Stanišić – author of the exhibition “Moj svet”.

Welcome speeches:

  • Dr. Vladimir Pištalo, director of the National Library of Serbia;
  • Dr. Svetlana Šeatović.

“In poetry, it’s like in an enchanted garden, where only dream seekers venture. In it, like honey in the forest comb, words stand, everyone’s and no one’s, yours and mine” – these are the verses of Desanka’s poem after which the solemn academy was named. Behind her poetic shield, generations of dream hunters – poetry lovers – sought refuge.

Desanka Maksimović was born on May 16, 1898, near Valjevo. A poet, storyteller, novelist, children’s writer, and translator, a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and according to many, the greatest Serbian poetess, she published about fifty books in her lifetime. She passed away in Belgrade on February 11, 1993, at the age of 94.

After the solemn academy, the exhibition “Moj svet” by Mirjana Stanišić was opened in the lobby of the National Library of Serbia. The exhibition consisted of artifacts from the poet’s family archive (her beloved clothing items, manuscripts, and correspondence with foreign poets whose poems she translated).


Andjela Petrovic author