Ohrid, 28 August 2022 (MIA) — The poetry of Shuntarō Tanikawa, the 61st Struga Poetry Evenings’ Golden Wreath winner, "travels like an uncaught bird through the bordered language spaces, like a seed sown in the night that silently transforms into music, into film, into a picture or calligraphy, into a disturbing or calming silence," Macedonian poet Nikola Madzhirov said Saturday evening at the poetry reading in honor of the recipient of the country's highest poetry award, held in the St. Sophia church in Ohrid. “He is the most prolific and innovative contemporary poet from Japan and his poems appear both in school textbooks and in the mass media as well as in progressive literary magazines,” Madzhirov said. Although Tanikawa’s poetry is accessible, he added, “his poetry is highly sophisticated, sharply drawn like branching roots towards the sky.” He stressed that the Japanese poet built his poems on “lyrical and sound associations and innovative word games,” with "deep philosophical thoughts and emotional longings flowing underneath." Japanese composer and pianist Kensaku Tanikawa read the 2022 SPE laureate’s poems and performed pieces inspired by his father’s poetry at the St. Sophia church reading. He will also accept the Golden Wreath on behalf of his father, who is not attending the festival due to his advanced age, organizers said. mr/