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Aco Šopov: Zlij se s tišino (Merge with Silence), Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, 1957

Merge with Silence is the first book by a Macedonian author to be published in Slovenian. Translated by the poet Ivan Minatti, it was received with great enthusiasm and curiosity in Slovenia.

“For the attentive Slovenian reader, this collection of Macedonian poems raises a number of questions,” writes Fran Petre in the book’s afterword. “What are the paths of Macedonian poetry today? What are the issues that concern Macedonian poets? How does a poem written in a literary language that is still in its infancy fit into the complex composition of modern poetry?”

The Slovenian literary critic attempts to answer: “The Macedonian understands poetry as a sophisticated art form, which opens up multiple possibilities for emotional concentration, artistic inspiration, expression of the rational and the indefinable, and offers, through the use of rhythm, rhyme and form, a rich sonority of the poetic word. Just as the music of his own home inspires him to dance more than jazz, so folk poetry speaks to him more deeply and convincingly than modern poetry. It was in this context that Macedonian poetic art was born. […] Around 1950, new literary and theoretical ideas began to penetrate the Macedonian poetry scene, especially among the younger generation. And it was not literary criticism that paved the way for them, but poetic practice itself. Šopov’s collection of poems with the symbolic title Merge with Silence is representative of this change.

For the contents of the book, see this same page in Slovenian.