Vasil Iljoski (; December 20, 1902 – November 1, 1995) was a Macedonian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and an important figure in

Macedonian literature Macedonian literature () begins with the Ohrid Literary School in the First Bulgarian Empire (nowadays North Macedonia) in 886. These first written works in the dialects of the Old Church Slavonic were religious. The school was established by ...

, especially in Macedonian drama between the two

World Wars A world war is an international conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I (19 ...

Biography

Vasil Iljoski was born in

Kruševo Kruševo ( ; "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian language, Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an altitude of over ...

in 1902. He has finished his elementary education in the town of

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...

, where he moved in his early childhood. During that period, he has helped his father in their family business, but he did not accept it as his future profession. Iljoski finished secondary school in Kumanovo and enrolled at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje. At the beginning of his career, he worked as a teacher in the City Gymnasium in Kumanovo. His play ''Begalka'', or known as ''Lenče Kumanovče'', performed in 1928 in the

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

theater was staged in the Kumanovo dialect, which belongs to the

Torlakian dialects Torlakian, or Torlak, is a group of transitional South Slavic dialects spoken across southeastern Serbia, southern and eastern Kosovo, northwestern and northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgar ...

. This play was soon banned, because of the then Yugoslav policy of

Serbianization Serbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", srbizacija, србизација or sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=none, separator=" / ", posrbljavanje, посрбљавање; ...

and its author was transferred from the local school. Other significant plays written by Iljoski are: ''Učenička avantura'' (''Student's Adventure'', 1939), ''Čest'' (''Honor''), ''Kuzman Kapidan'' (1954), ''Mladi Sinovi'' (''Young Sons'') and others. With the end of WWII and the foundation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, the Yugoslav authorities recognized a distinct

Macedonian language Macedonian ( ; , , ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch. Sp ...

in which standardization he participated. Vasil Iljoski is one of the founders of the Association of the Writers of Macedonia and member at the

Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts () is an academic institution in North Macedonia. History The Academy of Sciences and Arts was established by the Socialist Republic of Macedonia's assembly on 23 February 1967 as the highest scientifi ...

since 1967. He was also part of the editorial team of the literary magazine " Sovremenost". He finished his working career as a regular professor at the Pedagogical Faculty in Skopje.

Works

Vasil Iljoski is the author of many dramas, comedies and essays. Among them are: * "Begalka" - ''"Бегалка"'', published in 1926 also known as "Lenče Kumanovče" * "Čorbadži Teodos" - ''"Чорбаџи Теодос"'', published in 1937 * "Student's adventure", ''"Ученичка авантура"'', published in 1939. * "Office for unemployed", ''"Биро за безработни"'' * "Write, Panče" - ''"Пиши, Панче"'', published in 1947. * "Two against one" - ''"Два спрема еден"'', published in 1952. * "Honor" - ''"Чест"'' published in 1953Čest, Vasil Iljoski
/ref> * "

Kuzman Kapidan Kuzman Kapidan ( ) or Kuzman Karamak or Kuzman voivode or Kuzman Kareman is a popular legendary hero of Bulgarian, and Macedonian epic poetry. His figure is based on the historical person who initially was a hajduk,Енциклопедия Бълг ...

" - ''"Кузман Капидан"'', published in 1954. * "Father and Son" - ''"Син и татко"'', published in 1955. * "Bloody Stone" - ''"Окрвавен камен"'', published in 1968. * "Wedding" - ''"Свадба"'', published in 1976. * "Death for life" - ''"Смрт за живот"'', published in 1988. * "Young Sons" - ''"Млади синови"''

Biography

Works

References

External links