Iva Damjanovski

“The cracks on the asphalt are lines I write verses on
and hope that I still haven’t written my last love poem.” 
_{- from: A poem I still won’t write} 

Iva Damjanovski is a Macedonian poet and musician. 

Her poetry is written with surgical precision. Every sound and every silence are well-calculated, giving every meticulously chosen word a dense richness of meaning. In Damjanovski’s poems one can sense anger at and disappointment in the world and its injustices, as well as a certain helplessness in regard to bringing about change. Nonetheless, she strives to withstand the chaos with subtle humor, sour-sweet irony and a discreet smile. 

Having graduated from the Piano Performance program at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Damjanovski continues to study at the Master’s of Musicology Program of the Free University of Bolzano. As a musician she has appeared on international stages, among which are several festivals in Italy and the Macedonian Philharmonic concert program. She performs as a solo pianist and thereminist as well as part of the experimental duo Alembic. Additionally, she composes music for film and theater. 

She has written three poetry books. Her first book Тие (2017) won the Igor Isakovski Award for best debut poetry book by a young author. She was awarded the prestigious Brothers Miladinovci Award for her second poetry book Двоумење (2020). Her poetry has been translated into many languages, some of which are English, Serbian, Irish and Bengali.