Goethe in Bulgaria

The proposed work, which has 312 pages in total, represents an important contribution to the general Literary Studies in our country. Although similar studies have been attempted earlier by writers and scholars who were interested in Bulgarian-German literary relations, the study by the Germanist Stefan Stanchev has the great advantage that it covers a larger period of translations and research and that it examines the problems of the penetration and assessment of Goethe's works in our country from a strictly critical and consistently advanced standpoint. What is special in this case is that the author everywhere brings the perception of Goethe in Bulgaria 1.St. Iv. Stanchev, Goethe in Bulgaria, part I, II, III. Yearbook of Sofia University, volume LVII and LIX Sofia, drzh. Publishing House Nauka i izkustvo, 1963-1965, pp. 150, 74 and 88. 140 in close connection with the overall process of literary life in our country, perceiving the dependence of the choice and interpretation of Goethe's works on the character and directions of the poetic creativity and the literary views of the Bulgarian writers. Accordingly, Stanchev's work includes, compositionally speaking, four chapters: 1. Translations until the Liberation; 2. Translations and literary-critical views until the October Revolution; 3. Goethe in our country until September 9, 1944 and 4. The same theme in literature about Goethe until recent times. A detailed bibliography finally complements the broad plan of the study. Goethe himself, with his comprehensive literary education and the rapid spread of his works in numerous translations into various languages, had more than once the occasion to pronounce on the importance of Literary communication between nations and on the meaning and justification of translations. Especially during the last period of his life, when Goethe was already one of the most recognized representatives of his native literature in all cultural countries, he felt more and more strongly the need to include his work in the scope of the new "world literature", making this Literature accessible everywhere, despite the diversity of national languages. Goethe passionately advocated the introduction of international solidarity in the name of a common artistic culture and the great idea of ​​fraternizing nations through art and science capable of enhancing human dignity.