The affirming power of poetic images in Smirnensky's lyrics

Hristo Smirnenski carries on the wings of his poetry the indomitable rush of the revolutionary storm and the most daring dreams of the sunny day of humanity. The very movement of the many-faced life has found in his poetry an inspired poetic embodiment, capable of greatly affecting the mind and heart of man. Deeply and realistically embracing the main features of the revolutionary era, the dark spots in the cruel dying world of capitalism and the whirlwind flight of the oppressed lowlands to the gates of communism; reflecting in unique pictures and images the very storm of the emerging socialist world, embodying the trembling enthusiasm and unshakable faith in the victorious march of the Great October Socialist Revolution and in the future day of humanity, Smirnenski's work opened new horizons in the development of Bulgarian literature. The scope of his poetic talent is so wide, the enchanting figurative wealth of his works has so deeply summarized the development of Bulgarian literature, so close is the connection of his poetic visions with the people's life and dreams for the future, that it contributes to the unshakable force of laying the foundations of socialist-realist art in our country without much toil and detours. With his life and work, Smirnenski brilliantly showed that the fusion of the writer with the revolutionary aspiration of the masses, placing his heart and lyre in harmony with communist ideas, in the service of the revolution and the liberation struggle of the people, fertilizes his talent, stimulates his creativity, elevates his thought. After Smirnenski, a great writer in Bulgarian literature could only be the one who stands on the positions of realism, on the side of the struggling people. This enormous contribution of Smirnensky had a beneficial effect in two directions: on the one hand, it opened the broad road of socialist revolutionary literature, united democratic writers on the basis of the anti-fascist struggle; on the other hand, it dug a deep chasm for modernism, which could no longer find fertile ground for flourishing in our country. The entire Bulgarian revolutionary literature, supported and guided by the Communist Party, followed the path outlined by Smirnensky. Along this path, learning creatively from Smirnensky, Bulgarian literature created works that are unfading in their poetic power and inspiration, in their insight into the life and pathos of the struggle.