Verses marked one of the most significant dates in the history of Montenegro

The Literary Association (KZ) "Vladimir Mijušković", the oldest association of writers in Montenegro, has decided to celebrate July 13, the Statehood Day, in its own way, with verse and fellowship. They gathered at Lukova, at the estate of journalist and publicist Miša Drašković, who a few days ago presented the book "Words that travel", in which he collected texts created over two centuries.

The President of the CC "Vladimir Mijušković", Spasoje Bajović, recalled the importance of the 13th of July Uprising and said that "we must nurture brotherhood and unity and good neighborly relations, because only then will we succeed in resisting all the challenges and dangers that threaten us".

Host Mišo Drašković pointed out that it has almost become a tradition for writers to gather at his place on July 13, and mark a significant date in the history of Montenegro with verse.

The secretary of the CC "Vladimir Mijušković", Jovan Drašković, spoke about the symbolism of the number 13 for Montenegro.

"The territory of Montenegro is 13 thousand square meters, Petar Petrović II, our greatest poet and philosopher, was born on November 13, 1813, and has two numbers 13 in his date of birth. "One of the most significant battles, the Battle of Grahovac, ended on May 13, 1858, after which the issue of restoring Montenegro's independence was imposed on the great powers," said Drašković.

There are two more dates related to the number 13, namely July 13, which is celebrated as Statehood Day - on that date in 1878, the independence of Montenegro was recognized at the Berlin Congress, making it the 27th independent country in the world, and in 1941 the popular uprising against fascism began.

At the gathering in Lukovo, in addition to Spasoj Bajović and Jovan Drašković, Snežana Pejović, Miloš Kecojević, Slavko Milić, Miljan Mijušković and Slavojka Slava Vojnović spoke the verses, and Vasilisa Mijušković, the winner of this year's municipal competition in recitation, reading Elizabeta Georgijev's verses, showed that it was not without reason that she won first place at the aforementioned competition and had a notable performance at the national level.

The literary community was founded in 1968 by a group of young literati from Nikšić, and it bears the name of the distinguished professor of the Nikšić High School, Vladimir Mijušković, the author of the novel "Pledge" and plays that were performed in Yugoslav theaters. Among the founders are: Dragan Radulović, Vukman Otašević, Janko Brajković, Miroslav Jovanović Timotijev, Dušan Govedarica, Radislav Gardašević, Milan Dugo Krivokapić, Drago Mijović Godijelj...

The community published its first book in 1969, the year after its foundation. It was the "Cactus" almanac, a joint collection of Community members. Since then, over 650 titles of various genres, by Montenegrin and Yugoslav authors, have been published. There are translations and editions of Italian, Romanian and Armenian poets and writers, as well as the first books of young creators who have established themselves, precisely in the Literary Community.

The community, together with the Municipality of Nikšić, was a co-organizer of "Nikšić Literary Meetings", and during its many decades of existence, it organized numerous events such as "With the Poet at Midnight", "Pledge Days", "Car(r) on the Korza", and the book fair on the Square of freedom in Nikšić, "The book against the Internet...

She established and awards two prestigious literary awards - "Zaloga" and the "Vito Nikolić" award, which has been awarded since 1996, as well as the "Rescue Pajo Bajović" and "Radule Željko Damjanović" awards.