Desanka Maksimović (; 16 May 1898 – 11 February 1993) was a Serbian poet, writer and translator. Her first works were published in the literary journal "Misao" in 1920, while she was studying at the University of Belgrade. Within a few years, her poems appeared in the "Serbian Literary Herald", Belgrade's most influential literary publication. In 1925, Maksimović earned a French Government scholarship for a year's study at the University of Paris. Upon her return, she was appointed a professor at Belgrade's elite First High School for Girls, a position she would hold continuously until World War II.