Women Writers Route
The International Foundation Forum of Slavic Cultures is the initiator and organizer of the new cultural route of the Council of Europe, dedicated to the European women writers. Women writers pre-empted gender quality, as we know it and respect today, set by Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by the European Convention on Human Rights and recently, by the PEN Charter and Women’s Manifesto.
The Women Writers Route will bring into the limelight the outstanding life stories and literary works, which marked the struggle for human and women’s rights in the 20th century. Their uniqueness and role in the history and cultural heritage of the entire Slavic and European region was important, yet never truly recognized.
The Women Writers Route is an extremely narrative way of revealing their life and creativity. It links the symbolic and physical points of their lives and work between museums, memorial rooms, reading rooms, public monuments, cafes and other public spaces. In addition to the scientific and cultural field, the road will also enrich local communities and tourist attractions, creative industry, gastronomy and cultural tourism.
“Let’s broaden the professional, cultural and tourist exploration of the role of women’s literature in the European history, identity and values!”
Why new cultural route?
- Open brand-new pages of the European cultural and democratic history;
- Enable and broaden rich scientific, cultural and tourist exploration of women’s literature in the context of European history, identity and values;
- Enhance visibility, significance, contribution and reputation of women writers to European culture and European history of human rights and democracy;
- Offer inspirational presentations, dynamic stories and attractive cultural and tourist content;
- Encourage constructive thought, initiate public debate and strengthen democratic practice
- Include access to heritage that is far more experiential and active than a passive approach in creating experiences, training and socialization.
Inspiring Women Writers
Croatia
Ivana Brlić Mažuranić (1874 – 1938)
children’s writer and first women member of the Yugoslav Academy of Science and Arts
Marija Jurić Zagorka (1873 – 1957)
journalist, writer, playwright
Montenegro
Divna Veković (1886 – 1941)
medicine doctor and translator
Poland
Maria Konopnicka (1842 – 1910)
writer, poet, translator, literary critic, activist
Russia
Anna Akhmatova (1889 – 1966)
poet, writer, literary critic, literary historian and translator
Marina Tsvetaeva (1892 – 1941)
poet
Zinaida Gippius (1869 – 1954)
poet, playwright , novelist, editor and thinker
Serbia
Desanka Maksimović (1898 – 1993)
poet, writer, translator
Isidora Sekulić (1877 – 1958)
prose writer, novelist, essayist, polyglot and art critic
Jelena Dimitrijević (1862 – 1945)
writer, novelist, traveller, poet, feminist
Slovenia
Zofka Kveder (1878 – 1926)
writer, playwright, translator, journalist and feminist
Lili Novy (1885 – 1958)
poet and translator
Ljubka Šorli (1910 – 1993)
poet
Join in!
Join the Women Writers Route and help us shed a new light on the valuable contribution of women writers to European history and culture. Become a friend or a member of the network, support women literary heritage and enjoy a range of unique activities and benefits.
Feel free to contact us!
ACTIVITIES
Presentations
Conferences
Meetings
Tours
Workshops
EVENTS
2020
Croatia, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Serbia:
Official launching of WWR common activities on 8 March
2019
Ljubljana/Slovenia:
International Conference Women Writers at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries
St. Petersburg/Russia
International Cultural Forum St. Petersburg - Conference Cultural Routes of the Slavic World on the Map of Europe
2018
Luxembourg; Riga/Latvia; St. Petersburg/Russia; Yuste/Spain
Meetings and presentations
2017
Ljubljana/Slovenia
International Conference Cultural Routes of the Slavic World on the Map of Europe
COMING SOON
March 2021
“In the month when we celebrate International Women’s Day, a volume dedicated to the nine women writers included in the Women Writers Route will be brought out. The volume will be published by the Forum of Slavic Cultures and the newly established association Women Writers Route.”
Scientific volume entitled Defiant Trajectories: Mapping out Slavic Women Writers Routes sheds light on various aspects of the work and life stories of nine women writers and poets from the Slavic world: Marija Jurić Zagorka and Ivana Brlić Mažuranić from Croatia, Divna Veković from Montenegro, famous Russian authors Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva and Zinaida Gippius, Maria Konopnicka from Poland, Jelena Dimitrijević from Serbia and Slovenian Zofka Kveder. Papers in the volume, which are extended research papers presented at the conference Women Writers at the Turn of 19th and 20th Century, organized by the FSK 2019 in Ljubljana, are connected by a common thread of crossing actual and symbolic boundaries set for women, and especially creative women, by the social norms of their time. “Therefore, mapping the paths of women writers is not only creating maps, which we then follow and by doing so enrich and deepen our knowledge of female literary authorship, but what is more, by following their footsteps we celebrate women’s strength, innovation, and creativity,” wrote the editors of the volume Biljana Dojčinović, Maša Grdešić and Katja Mihurko Poniž in the introduction to the book. The authors will present the proceedings at an online event at the end of March.
publication
A Tiger in a Museum is not a Tiger: An anthology of the thoughts of Kenneth Hudson (1916-1999)
- Compiled, edited and introduced by Massimo Negri, Ann Nicholls, Wim van der Weiden, Andreja Rihter
- Photos: Matjaž Očko, Personal Archive
- Design: Matija Kovač, zgradbazamisli
- Published: 2017 in English
“The perfect museum has to be in the right place, on an agreeable site, easily reached by both public and private transport. Whatever its size, it would need to occupy a distinguished building, beautiful in itself, convenient and practical to work in, and capable of providing and encouraging a satisfying atmosphere for its visitors.”
From the book, p 11
NEWS
Guided tour of the poet Lili Novy’s trail
On March 8, we celebrated International Women’s Day with the tour of the trail of the Poet Lili Novy, which is part of the Women Writers Route. Our guide was Mateja Kregar Gliha, president of the Association of regional tourist guides of Slovenia.
Maja Gojković, FSK Board President, Joins Work Meeting at Villa Zlatica
During a working meeting held at Villa Zlatica, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the President of the FSK Board, Maja Gojković, and the Director of the Forum of Slavic Cultures, Andreja Rihter, engaged in a productive discussion on the importance of implementing the FSK program designed to promote the rich cultural heritage of the Slavic countries.
Heritage and the digital at this year’s Piranova
This year’s edition of the international four-day colloquium Piranova featured experts from Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Poland, North Macedonia and Ukraine who explored good practices in digital technologies that facilitate museums in creating a participatory and inclusive museum experience.