Ratković Poetry Evenings

Ratkovićeve večeri poezije — the Ratković Poetry Evenings — is one of Montenegro's oldest literary festivals, with more than fifty-five editions behind it. It is held in Bijelo Polje and always opens on 3 September, the birthday of the town's poet Risto Ratković, running through 5 September, with events in the town and at Ratković's birthplace on the banks of the Lim.

The festival's centrepiece is the Risto Ratković Award for the best poetry book of the year, decided through an open competition spanning Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Around it runs an international poetry evening with guest poets, poetry workshops for high-school students, monodramas and book promotions.

For three evenings, a small northern town becomes the meeting point of the region's poetry scene — an unpretentious, serious literary gathering run by a dedicated public institution, where audiences hear the year's strongest new collections read by their authors.

The festival takes place 3–5 September in Bijelo Polje. All events are free and open to the public.