Welcome to the world where literature and politics mix like coffee and milk, but without the milk! At the “Poetic Word at the Source of Piva” event, held for 54 years in Plužine, the great Serbian writer Matija Bećković was awarded the newly established lifetime achievement award “Pivsko oko.” Sounds like a fairy tale, but wait, there’s a twist! Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), as a socially responsible company, decided to support this event and became the patron of the award. Not only that, the chairman of EPCG’s board, Milutin Đukanović, personally handed the award to Bećković and then received a token of gratitude from the organizers himself. Is this a perfect symbiosis of culture and business or just another case of awards being handed out among friends?
The event lasted three days and was full of poetry, book promotions, and exhibitions, but the main star of the evening was Bećković himself. Other awards were also given, such as the “Kosta Radović” award for the best prose book, received by Zoran Kostić. But did all this overshadow the fact that the lifetime achievement award was given to Bećković in a way that raised eyebrows?
While poetry and culture are celebrated in Plužine, many wonder if this is the right moment to hand out awards in such a manner. Is EPCG truly a socially responsible company, or is it just using culture as a tool to gain political points? And where does real literary criticism fit into all this?
If you thought this was the end of the story, wait until you hear about the KotorArt festival, where the Montenegro Festival Orchestra held a concert dedicated to Vivaldi. Nice, but a completely different topic, right? So stick around and comment – is culture in Montenegro really at a high level, or is it all just a show for the public? Drop a line or two, let’s see who’s for and who’s against this circus!
