Days are they – days

the hardships of hired labourers!

Rise in the morning early

return in the evening late,

in the morning take with you joy

in the evening bring back grief –

a plague on it, may it be

damned, this life of a dog!

Kočo Racin is one of the most prominent intellectuals, originally from Macedonia, and is considered one of the founders of modern Macedonian literature, and his collection of poems “White Dawns”, published in Samobor near Zagreb in 1939, is one of the most important poetic works works in modern Macedonian literature.

The Kočo Racina Memorial House, located in Veles, was built on the left bank of the Vardar River and is a traditional Veles house, which today is considered the type of house with the most attractive architecture. The house was built in the late 19th century and consists of a stone ground floor, a prominent white façade on the second floor and a steep tiled roof. The house in which Racin was born, lived and worked was completely reconstructed in 1963, but has retained its authentic appearance and, as is typical for old Macedonian houses, has a first and second floor. On the ground floor there is Rachin's pottery workshop and the kiln in which he fired clay products. On the second floor there are two rooms, a kitchen and a guest room, as well as a shed with a beautiful view of the old city.

On the shed there is a permanent exhibition of documents and objects that belonged to the great poet, whose collection of poems “White Dawns" is the most translated book of the Macedonian poet. The memorial house displays his original manuscripts, as well as many other memorabilia from his life and work. On display are thirty-one love letters and postcards from Kocho Rachin to Rahilka Firfova-Racha, some of which were written in his blood in the 1920s.

“I accept your name is like mine, and therefore I give you immortality, a condensed sigh after you. An anthology of pain... and my portrait, if you ask... a drop of blood from my body and soul - you already have it... My future name - connects me with you forever... Forgive me or curse me - it doesn’t matter. And I love it all, forgive everything and forget everything. I only regret one thing: I didn’t hear the meaning in the sound of your words... or at least their trace in the ink...” is written on one of the cards. Racine's home is most often visited during Racine Meetings and Children's Racine Meetings, which are organized in his honor. In the summer, the Memorial House hosts a pottery workshop, where the best potters of Veles teach interested students the basics of pottery, preventing this craft from disappearing.