It is impossible to imagine postwar Macedonian intellectual life without the contributions of Blaze Koneski. He played a pivotal role in the codification of the standard Macedonian literary language, in the development of modern Macedonian literature, and in the establishment of those institutions that promote an active intellectual community, and he was widely recognized internationally as the leading figure in postwar Macedonian letters. His contributions as a linguist, scholar, and writer fundamentally shaped the development of the Macedonian language and the direction of Macedonian poetry. Critics have tried to assess which aspect of Koneski's work is primary-that of Koneski the wise, cerebral poet, or that of Koneski the linguist, who, reflecting on his writing of Istorija na makedonskiot jazik (The History of the Macedonian Language, 1965), writes:

My work was going unexpectedly well. Every morning I went outside after breakfast and across a rapid stream, I set off to...