Местна история / Микроистория

The article, part of a larger study, provides the first accurate reconstruction of the funeral of Pencho Slaveykov, which was held on June 1/14, 1912, in Brunate (Italy). The text, based on rich archival and documentary material (memoirs, press articles, archival sources), aims to theoretically substantiate the heuristic of the scientific approach to such “marginal” micro-plots. It demonstrates that the funeral of Pencho Slaveykov in Italy was conceived as a fulfillment of the poet’s unspoken will and a merging with the “solemn psalm of the entire universe” (“Psalm of the poet”). At the same time, the article shows how the burial of the renowned author could be interpreted as a supreme expression of mercy and a manifestation of Bulgarian-Italian reciprocal understanding and friendship.

This analysis is a contribution to the study of the phenomenon of the Orange Alternative protest-art movement. It interprets the literary work “Six Short Stories” as a supplement to the programmatic texts of the latter. In the research, the significance of the movement against the background of European avant-garde currents and the ideas of the “Manifesto of Socialist Surrealism” are briefly presented. Moreover, the study outlines the profile of its creator, Waldemar “Major” Fydrych. The article also shows the most important themes that appear in the texts: “Manifesto of Flowers,” “Mars Amandi,” “Dawn,” and “Opera for 44 Pieces of Silver.” In particular, their several surrealist aspects are highlighted.