Mili Dueli 2020 (8th season) had 739 entries from 52 countries. It is the largest and most popular online poetry contest in this area, which for the 8th year in a row brings together poets from the region, and lately from around the world. Mili Dueli is headquartered from Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The purpose of the contest is to encourage intercultural dialogue among artists from the Balkans and the world. As it is one of the most sensitive regions in the world with a turbulent past, the aim of the contest is to build bridges of culture and mutual respect between once war-torn areas.
The contest is traditionally composed of 5 elimination rounds. In each round, the number of authors decreases, and in the last, Fifth round, the winner is decided by a voting system based on the Eurovision Song Contest scoring system. The main responsible person of the contest is Nermin Delic, the idea creator and organizer of the contest. For 8 years in a row, Mili Dueli have been gathering authors and spreading the influence of poetry in everyday life.
Briefly about the First Round: The selection of all received applications (739) was performed by Nermin Delić. The organizer selected 476 authors for presentation in the Second Round.
Briefly about the Second Round: After the selection in the First Round by the organizer of the contest, Nermin Delić, 476 authors were selected and presented in the Second Round. In the Second Round, the authors are classified in 12 duels, according to the countries they come from. Due to the number of participants, Bosnia and Herzegovina had 2 duels (DUEL 1, DUEL 2), and Serbia 3 (DUEL 3, DUEL 4, DUEL 5). Croatia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Bulgaria had one duel each (DUEL 6, DUEL 7, DUEL 8, DUEL 9). Due to the small number of participants, authors from Albania, Greece, Kosovo, Romania and Slovenia were presented in one duel (DUEL 10). Poets with Balkan roots, but with current residence outside the Balkans, are grouped together in one duel (DUEL 11). In the end, all other authors coming from non-Balkan countries are grouped into one duel (DUEL 12).
The beginning of the presentation of the duel on the official Facebook profile of Milih Duel was on July 12, 2020. Duels are presented in order, every 2-3 or 4 days according to the scope of the duel. For the first 15 days from the presentation of the duel, the followers of Mili Dueli were able to vote in the comments by entering the author’s number below the picture where his/her poem is presented in the description. In addition to the readers, members of the jury, composed of 12 renowned and important for Mili Dueli Balkan artists, also voted. They selected 90% of the authors to pass to the Third Round. The other 10% is intended for the votes of the readers, for those who were not selected by the jury, and who have the great support of their friends and companions Mili Dueli.
RESULTS
DUEL 9 – 🇧🇬 BULGARIA
DUEL RULES: In Duel 9, all selected authors from Bulgaria are presented there. The number of participants in Duel 9 is 38. Duel 9 of Bulgarian authors after the Second Round has 20 authors. The president of the jury chose 12 authors, an additional member of the jury chooses 6 authors, while the readers also choose 2 authors.
How about voting? The initial selection was made by the President of the Jury. So, out of all the authors offered in the duel, she selected the 12 most successful ones, based on her judgment. After the results of the voting of the President of the Jury (1) arrived, the Additional Member of the Jury (2) selected from the authors not selected by the President as many authors as the rules of the contest dictate (30%). After that, the votes of the Readers (3) were reviewed for the authors who did not pass that selection either, and according to the decision of the readers who followed the voting rules, an additional 10% of the authors were selected, as many contest rules as required.
(1) President of the jury: Anđela Turukalo
(2) Additional member of the jury: Nermin Delić
(3) Readers (number of votes / comments received): 1046
Readers voted in the comments below 4 posted pictures in which a total of 38 poems of this duel were presented. The organizer reviewed all the comments, on all pictures of this duel and according to the rules selected 2 authors with the highest number of valid votes.
WHAT NOW?
AUTHORS WHO PASSED to the next round of Mili Dueli will be informed on Facebook by a private message in the inbox about sending a new poem for the Third Round.
The third round will start in September, and the exact date with the rules of further selection of poems will be announced by the Organizer in the next few days. Please be patient!
AUTHORS WHO DID NOT PASS THE NEXT ROUND OF THE MILI DUELI, who remained in the TOP 500, will receive electronic recognition for their participation as they represented their countries, and will accordingly receive recognition for intercultural dialogue between the Balkans and the world.
All the presented poems will be represented in a electronic poetry collection which, apparently, will have its own printed edition (summer, 2021), when MILI DUELI BALKAN TOUR awaits us.
Also, all authors who are 2000 or younger will be presented at the MILI DUELI JUNIOR ONLINE POETRY CONTEST which will start a few days after the end of the eighth season of Mili Duels 2020 – Online Balkan Poetry Contest!
JURY COMMENTS
Jury President: ANĐELA TURUKALO
DONKO NAYDENOV positively surprised me this time. This poem has an interesting imagery and is written quite well. The ending is perfect. I can see the improvement in his work throughout the seasons. Well done, Donko.
DILYAN DIMITROV… This is an imaginative work. I can see the depth in this poem and i find it quite charming. Yet, I believe it could get better with practice. If verses were a little more dynamic, it would be perfect.
MARIA GERASOVA… This poem is too simple for my preferences. The main purpose was to differentiate good from evil, but it could be done through one strophe, if it’s written this way. It should be a bit more picturesque. It needs some spark to make it stand out from the others.
PETAR MARINOV did a nice job. I can see the improvement from the last season. Still, i think this could be better. Either a stronger ending or more of a story is what’s needed here.
YORDANKA RADEVA… This is an emotional poem which lacks stronger effect. The author should put a bit more of her own personality in her poetry. Also, it lacks innovative verses, because nothing new is being said here.
GOSPODINKA DIMITROVA… This poem is nice. It’s high-coloured, it creates a bit of a movie in our minds. Nicely done.
ROSICA KOPUKOVA, this poem has a good point, it’s clear. Yet, it lacks stronger ending and a bit of dynamics in the expression itself. Anyway, not bad at all.
PLAMEN SIVOV, this poem is very melodic and pleasant for reading. It’s not my cup of tea, but I must say it’s not bad. It’s simple and likeable.
MITKO DIMOV… This is one very apologetic poem… That fact makes it have a different note among the others. It gives the impression of the ultimate regret. It needed some innovative verses and more of different emotions to make it more alive, to make it energetic.
SIMONA VULKOVA… Great idea for the poem. Yet, it feels clumsy and chaotic. This is a young author, and I understand that she needs more of experience. She doesn’t lack talent, for sure, but she needs to work more.
STANISLAV KYULDZIEV, almost the same as Simona. Very interesting idea, not perfectly executed. First half of the poem gave chaotic and clumsy impression, but the other half was better. The ending was very good. Talent is definitely existent, but the author needs to improve through practice.
NINKO KIRILOV… This is really great. One of the best poems in this group. I loved it. It’s aesthetically pleasing, quality is undoubtedly there. Motives are interesting. The title is very good. The ending leaves emotional trace onto the reader. All i can say is: well done.
ANTOANETA ZAFIROVA, this poem contains some sharpnesss, and that’s a good thing. Yet, it said nothing much, nor there was a feeling lingering after i finished reading it. I believe it lacks a bit of poetic elements, a bit of emotions… I’m pretty sure it was a poor poem choice.
ЯНА РАДИЛОВА, I loved it. Expression of this author is clear and sharp, motives are interesting. Poem is quite pleasing aesthetically. It has a point, it has a character. Well done, keep going.
EKATERINA GLUHOVA DIMITROVA, this poem contains couple of interesting motives. Yet, it feels too mellow and weak. It needs stronger expression and innovative moments, something unexpected. Without that- it’s just a straight line. Aesthetically- not very well done. This author needs to put more of personality into the poem.
DENICA MINEVA… Such a sweet, sweet poem. I like it a lot. It’s creative, gentle and beautiful. Lovely.
GENO NEDYALKOV, great job. It’s creative, has depth, pleasant for reading, emotional, picturesque. It has everything I appreciate in a poem. Well done.
МИГЛЕНА ЯНЕВА, this poem has lots of interesting motives. It’s picturesque, it’s imaginative. I like the way you express yourself. Yet, I find it a bit chaotic and I feel like it lacks something in the very end. It needes some powerful point, to make the poem shine.
KREMENA KIRILOVA, this poem lacks better and more powerful ending. Also, I think it deserves to be more fluent, so it could be more pleasant for the reader. The author should work on that, because right now it feels dry.
SOFIA MILEVA… I like the motives of the poem, but I think they could be tied better. The poem lacks fluency. It almost feels like the author had all of those pictures in her mind and she just wanted to use them all.
ЙОАНА ХРИСТОВА… This author needs to work on aesthetics of her poetry. Also, it feels like -the sick swan- is the only motive in this poem. Everything else is quite simple, somewhat plain. Author definitely needs more practice.
ДИЛЯНА ВЕСЕЛИНОВА, since this is a love poem and miniature, I consider it needed more effort. This poem simply calls for something strong and new. The love poetry is the most written poetry in the world, and that’s the main reason why it’s the hardest one to write: if you want to stand out with your poem, you need to have something that no one said before. Also, when you write miniatures, you have a little space to show everything. It needs to be an explosion, and this was not one.
VESELA HALTAKOVA, the last two verses are probably the only poetic part of this poem. The rest is just something anyone would say in certain situations… So, nothing much. This poem lacks poetry, vivid motives, artsy expression… And it’s not aesthetically good.
STELIANA PETKOVA, I like this. Very interesting point of view. It’s well written and the expression is quite charming. Well done.
ВАНЯ АНГЕЛОВА, I think it could be more powerful, but nevertheless- it’s not bad at all. Pleasant miniature…
БОЖКО АНГЕЛОВ… It’s hard for me to say anything about this. It’s a sentence. It can hardly be considered as a poem, since there’s nothing poetic in this one sentence.
DENIS OLEGOV, as always, great. There’s sharpness, vivid images, strong expression, emotion like a veil covering the poem. I love it. Well done.
VALENTIN POPOV… I loved drinking coffee while reading this. Charming, sweet, lovely. Good job.
GEORGI SLAVOV… I love this poem, but my advice for you would be to use punctuation. It would work in your advantage here. The storyline, motives, expression, emotions, ending, the title… Everything’s just the way it should be. Great job, but try it with punctuation. Some poems simply ask for it. Also, one of the best poems here.
RUZHA VELCHEVA… This is very pleasant and sweet. Nicely done.
SLAVYAN YORGAKIEV, this poem is very punctual when it comes to form and rhythm. Also, it has that romantic touch through the expression. That’s commendable. Yet, it lacks power, some strong message, a bit of personality… Not bad, but it did not fascinate me.
BOGOMILA NAYDENOVA, it’s sweet and gentle. Quite charming. Yet, it’s a bit too soft for my preferences. Anyway, I did like it. It has some feminine energy that’s very euphonious. Still, I’d love if the author tried to work on the rhythm a bit more, because it sometimes feels not fluent enough. Also, there are some not-creative-enough verses. That should be avoided at all costs, always.
DIMITAR DZHENEV… I love it. Great poetry, once again. Well done.
KALOYAN HRISTOV, I’ve read your better poems in the last season. Anyway, this is a good idea, not poorly done. It’s good, but not as much as it can be. So, see you in the next round, with better choice of poem.
LYUBOMIR KYUCHUKOV, while I was reading this, I was certain that the poem was written by someone way older than this author. First two strophes are better than the rest of the poem. After those, it gets quite simple and plain. First strophe is the best, in my opinion. I think the author should choose subjects that are closer to his age and his experience and, also, he should work on the creativity of expression. I see that he’s able to do it, but he needs to give more effort.
TANYA MIRTCHEVA, the poem is short, but clear and pleasant. It’s soft and swaying. Not bad.
ALEX ARNAUDOV, great job. Loved every word of it. The ending is simply amazing. For the third time in this group- one of the best poems here. Good luck.
ROLANDA STEFANOVA, this was too soft and way too long, without any special purpose. There’s a lot of things that were said million times before. It lacks personality, it lacks energy and creativity. The author should work on that. Write like you’re spilling yourself onto the paper. Make the poem your own.
Additional Jury member: NERMIN DELIĆ
Dear authors,
First of all, congratulations to everyone on participating. I did not choose any of you for no reason, but in an extensive selection from the First Round (739 authors), I just wanted to cooperate and socialize with you. And really, I don’t regret the time I spent reading and presenting your poems, because each one taught me something.
Since poetry is subject to criticism, which makes it timeless, I am glad that I have founded the best possible team that will work on its selection. In this duel, the selection of poems was primarily done by the Montenegrin poet who is one of the best literary critic on the Balkans.
Reading your poems, I tried to find the originality that I always insist on, because only it can change everything. In this round, the President of the Jury certainly has the primacy in the selection of authors, and I asked her to present methodology of author selection. In this round I awarded two groups of authors: those who stood out in their poems with the originality of the expression and those who sent poetically mature poems but were very socially active when it comes to online communication in Mili Dueli.
I wrote a commentary for each author individually, in my notebook, and my practice has always been to address each author directly in the comments, but due to private obligations (about defending my dissertation at the faculty), I was not able to type it for you. But from the next round, there are definitely regular comments, the way I always do.
Congratulations to all on your trust … More than 23,000 comments have arrived in this round … for POETRY … for US. <3
THIS DUEL POEMS
You can look the entire duel on the social network Facebook, where it is presented on the official profile of Mili Dueli through several pictures:
See more about the organization of the Second Round here:
MILI DUELI
Made in Bosnia and Herzegovina
by Nermin Delić
Europe / Balkan Peninsula
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Central Bosnia Canton
Jajce Town 70202
Sva prava zadržana. // All rights reserved.