Hristo Yordanov

Recently, the first volume of the four-volume Marxist "History of Bulgarian Literature" under preparation was discussed at the Literary Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.1 The volume under discussion covers our literary and historical development from the emergence of old Bulgarian literature to Paisii Hilendarski. This scientific work is the fruit of the systematic efforts of a team of authors: Petar Dinekov, Emil Georgiev, Velcho Velchev, Ivan Duychev, Bonyu St. Angelov and Kuyu Kuev. It should be noted at the outset that all specialists and the entire institute staff greeted the first volume with marked interest, which is why its six-day discussion turned into a truly creative discussion dedicated to the characteristic problems associated with the specific features of our old literature. A serious conversation took place about the appearance, methodology, national identity, literary aesthetic essence, stylistic features, artistic criteria, literary movements and schools and all the distinctive features of our ancient centuries-old literature and culture. Almost all those who spoke expressed their views on certain aspects of this rich Bulgarian literature, made high demands on the authors' collective, gave interesting recommendations, defended familiar theses or presented new original hypotheses...

Once Karaslavov reproached Zhendov that he, Smirnensky's best friend and comrade, had not thought of making at least one portrait sketch of him from life. Surprised by the sudden comradely reproach, the artist was embarrassed and sincerely replied: "How could I have known that he was a brilliant poet! Smirnensky was more ordinary than everyone else around me and no one suspected that one day his name would thunder throughout the four corners of Bulgaria." This short confession of our remarkable caricaturist contains an exceptional truth. So would anyone be able to notice and single out their close friend as something exceptional in the comradely collective, among which he is every day? Hardly! Therefore, Zhendov's wise answer can with full reason be set as the Motto of Georgi Karaslavov's entire book - Meetings and Conversations with Nikola Vaptsarov." Indeed, which of Vaptsarov's closest comrades (and the author was among them) could have imagined that one day Vaptsarov's name would travel to the four corners of the five continents and spread the glory of our small people? Which of them could have even for a moment assumed that Every moment of the poet's life, every creative impulse, idea and dream, every object he touched, every vital detail, every gesture even, . . would attract the curious attention of his millions of admirers? And precisely because no one noticed the extraordinary personality in their proverbially modest comrade, that is why they did not think of recording at least one of his conversations with all its colorful details. Nor did his artist friends think of making a portrait or a sketch from life. Should we reproach them in turn? It is hardly necessary. Nor is it appropriate now, with the appearance of an entire book of memories about Vaptsarov, in which the preface emphasizes: "Yes, even then in his work Vaptsarov had outgrown everyone, had risen to a level that we, his closest comrades, could not see. (p. b). And on the next page it is added: "But Vaptsarov was so modest, so "ordinary", so close to us, that we could not see and measure his gigantic stature during his lifetime."

At the end of October of this year, a meeting of the well-known Soviet literary scholar and Bulgarian scholar, Professor Dmitry Feodorovich Markov, with the team of researchers at the institute took place at the Institute of Literature at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The guest showed interest in the work of all sections and in particular in the creative plans of the collaborators from the sections for contemporary literature, aesthetics and theory of literature, Russian and Soviet literature, etc. The scientific secretary of the institute, Efrem Karanfilov, introduced the Soviet scientist to the plan and the immediate tasks of the "youngest" section for contemporary literature, and Iskra Panova - to the tasks and achievements of the section for aesthetics and theory of literature. The director of the institute - Professor Georgi Tsanev, academician Lyudmil Stoyanov, Minko Nikolov, Ivan Tsvetkov, Atanas Natev, Boyan Nichev and others took part in the informal conversation.

Every unbiased reader cannot fail to notice that in his new book of literary-critical articles "Writers and Time" Pencho Danchev embarks on a very interesting discussion about the significant achievements and painful new searches, about the inevitable difficulties, experimental passions and obstacles in the development of our contemporary poetry. He does not hide his justified enthusiasm for the fact that in our contemporary literature there are different and very good poets, broadly reflecting life, its clashes, sharp conflicts and rapid changes. He shares his own reflections, generated by the creative originality of such an outstanding master of lyric poetry as Nikola Furnadzhiev. He analyzes the most significant in the work of the poets Veselin Hanchev, Valeri Petrov, Radoy Ralin and Penyo Penev. He rejoices in the irrepressible impulses and the excited discovery of the "young" - Lyubomir Levchev, Vladimir Bashev, Hristo Fotev and Damyan Damyanov. With concern and love he guides the "youngest" - Stefan Tsanev, Ivan Dinkov, Nikola Indjov, Ivan Trenev, Atanas Mochurov, Konstantin Pavlov, Alexander Milanov, Hristo Katsarov, Krastyo Stanishev, Minko Tsonevski, Slav Hr. Karaslavov.

The Fifth International Congress of Slavists recently concluded its fruitful work in our capital city. By general recognition, this is the largest scientific congress that has ever taken place in our country. The most prominent Slavologists from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Canada, Norway, Poland, Romania, the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Hungary, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, Yugoslavia, the Union of South Africa took part in its diverse scientific work. .. For a whole week, in the halls of Sofia University "Kliment Ohridski" one could hear a variety of reports on the Slavic languages ​​and their general patterns; on the place, great role and importance of Slavic literatures in the development of world literature; on new searches in the field of poetics and stylistics; about the rich past and present state of Slavic folk poetry or about the turbulent history of the Slavic peoples. . More than five hundred scientific reports were read, accompanied by over two thousand speeches. Considering that only over one thousand two hundred foreign delegates were present at the congress, in addition to the guests and the numerous Bulgarian delegation, one can judge the great activity and liveliness of the discussions. The following sections met continuously: five sections of poetry studies - Slavic literary languages, comparative-historical and typological Slavic linguistics, Slavic dialectology, interaction of Slavic and non-Slavic languages, language unions and onomastics, descriptive and applied Slavic linguistics: four sections of literary studies - general problems, Slavic literatures until the end of the 17th century, Slavic literatures in the 18th-19th centuries and modern Slavic literatures, one section of literary-linguistic problems; one section on the problems of folk art and two sections on historical and philological problems - ethnogenesis of the Slavs, the formation of Slavic states and the development of the social thought of the Slavic peoples in the Middle Ages. The national revival of the Slavic peoples. National liberation and revolutionary movement. Development of social thought in modern times. The October Socialist Revolution and the Slavic peoples. The social and cultural development of the Slavic peoples after the Second World War and problems of Slavic ethnography.

In his new book with the above title, Zhelyu Avdzhiev examines from Marxist-Leninist positions the aesthetic originality and place of populism and populist literature in the development of Bulgarian literature. Having correctly grasped the specifics of this characteristic phenomenon, the author invests enough energy to characterize it comprehensively and to point out its previously unexposed features, to present its most important representatives in a new light. In our country, there have been no deliberate discussions on the issues of the essence of populist literature, although these issues have interested many literary scholars, as a result of which they have been quite clarified and a considerable amount of literature has accumulated. In the work under consideration, however, the problems arising around the character and essence of populist literature are analyzed for the first time in such detail and exhaustively in a separate, independent monographic study. Until now, we have not had a comprehensive literary-historical study in which to examine the original character, specific development and unique essence of populist literature in Bulgaria. The work under consideration is precisely such a study, in which the author has set himself the task of thoroughly studying this literature, and in a newer direction.

For nearly four decades, the Bulgarian reader has been communicating with the artistic images and poetic wisdom of the writer Orlin Vassilev. And all the time he has met the restless and searching citizen, the thinking and exploratory poet of human justice - with a sharp reaction and lively impulsiveness - with an excited and captivating artist, who has tried almost all literary genres... He will try in the short story to listen very closely to the pulse of the "simple hearts" and to hear better the imperative and powerful "voice of the people", he will write stories and novels about the haidush past and the even more heroic present life-being of the people; will denounce the cruel "ring of fire" of fascism and will affirm the armed "resistance" and the beauty of the "white path" of the people's struggle, along which the working man, in a cruel class battle, at the cost of many victims, reached the happy shore of freedom, will remain captive for a long time to the heights of the native dramaturgy, in order to fertilize it with his "anxiety", "love" and "happiness". ..

Every poet has the inalienable right to a personal poetic voice and an individual artistic vision. Every lyric has the right to life, as long as the anxious blood of the time that gives rise to it flows in its poetic rhythm... Poetry, hermetically isolated from the pathos of the era, is a lifeless distillate, a sterile extract, without color, without taste and sweetness, without any attractive properties... Such poetry resembles an artificial rose, which, despite its filigree elegance, remains a dead thing. And vice versa - a lyric, bearing the mark of the restless atmosphere in which it was born, is read as a revelation. It sounds like a secret confession. Each couplet echoes in the heart inspired, truthful and strong! Each verse carries the dynamics and tragedy of the time. It is deeply imbued with the feelings and moods of the people... Every good poem grows into a page of a lyrical diary of the era. And the poet - into its prophet. A new and proud inspiration. By speaking with the wisdom of the people, the poet elevates the field of thoughts and feelings. He confesses the most intimate desires, sings with a native voice and takes on the role of an inspired herald in the struggle. To free poetry from theses and qualities is equivalent to shooting it. The artistic work of Veselin Andreev supports the truths about the enormous role of the poet and the poetic word. He brought his own vital themes into our contemporary lyric poetry. He showed the tense life of the Bulgarian partisans and became the discoverer of their heroism, suffering and pride. He pointed out the most acute conflicts of the anti-fascist era in our country, rediscovering them in the rich spirituality of the modern communist, in whose image he saw the unquenchable world of the future.

It is a glorious Gorky tradition to call on artists of the word to collective work: to frank conversations and discussions, to extensive discussions of the most pressing problems of our time, to various ways of creatively stimulating literature, art and culture. For half a century, these traditions have been actively developed to a new stage by modern creative unions, institutes, editorial offices and cultural organizations of Soviet writers, artists, scientists and cultural figures. A new vivid document of these living traditions and the emphasized desire for joint initiatives is the booklet 12 - 1965 of "Literary Issues", the organ of the Union of Writers of the USSR and the Institute of World Literature "A. M. Gorky" at the Academy of Sciences of the CCCP. The editorial board's initiative to dedicate an entire separate issue of the journal to the literatures of the socialist countries in Europe is not only commendable and timely, but also very symptomatic of the mature contemporary conditions under which European writers from the socialist countries must develop their creative efforts.

Anton Strashimirov met Vera Balabanova, née Bozhkova, in 1932. During the last five years of his life, Strashimirov maintained regular creative contact with Balabanova, who showed a keen interest in literature and writing. When she was in Sofia, she regularly met the writer in person, and when she was on leave for a longer period in Kardzhali or Haskovo, they maintained written contact. Previously, Vera Balabanova had lived in Germany for many years and after her return she devoted herself to literary life. She collaborated in "Literary Hour", "Literary Voice with Stories and Articles. She published the novel "Nick", 1937 and the story "Ancheto Pishe...", 1959, awarded by the Ministry of Public Education and the Central Committee of the Komsomol. Balabanova's home was often visited in the past by prominent Bulgarian writers Stefan L. Kostov, Anton Strashimirov, G. P. Stamatov, Teodor Trayanov, Ivan Radoslavov and others... Balabanova owns the interesting correspondence between Ivan Radoslavov and Teodor Trayanov and preserves her personal correspondence with Georgi Stamatov, Teodor Trayanov, Ivan Radoslavov and others.

Every time I think of the great artist, the silhouettes of his numerous heroes are clearly outlined in my mind. And along with them, the image of the unforgettable Beshkov is resurrected. I don’t know why, but his translucent, sinewy and long, very long fingers are most clearly outlined. I met such graceful and flexible fingers, strong and mobile fingers for the first time in Iliya Beshkov. There was something noble and refined in them, gallant and gentle, exceptional and powerful. These fingers played with equal skill on the round holes of his countless whistles, duduks, dvoyanki and tsafari, which he took out of the inside pocket of his jacket. With them he held the remarkable blade of the pen, which knew no rest. With them he drummed on tambourines, drums and random objects and, when it got boring, he replaced the drum. These fingers have long held the pencil with which he wrote his original essays about the Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius or about the folk song, about Paisius of Hilendar or about the deacon Levski, about the God-fighter Hristo Botev or about the fiery prophet "Georgi Dimitrov", about Stamboliyski or Kolarov, about the duel Aleko - Bai Ganyo or about his numerous friends - Nikola Marinov, Ivan Milev, Pencho Georgiev, Konstantin Petkanov, Alexander Bozhinov, Ruska Marinova, Alexander Stamenov and many others... Beshkov has written down many of his ideas about art, maxims about life, aphorisms about human existence, his "jokes", which contain so much wisdom, sorrow and pride.

Much light and beauty have radiated from the insatiable eyes of Yordan Radichkov to illuminate and bathe in brilliance his unlit Courtyards. Much warmth and tenderness have radiated from his heart to warm our souls with thought and poetic imagery; to enrich and invigorate them with his pure love for ordinary Soviet people and to make us deeply empathize with his Siberian unrest. His restless feelings, reflections and experiences strike us, just as the imagination is struck by the vastness of the dead Siberian fields, the snowy wasteland of the tundra or the taiga of Yakutia; just as the mind is struck by gold, huge pieces of gold nugget or the bright shine of diamonds from the Yakut deposits; just as the soul is saturated by the wondrous beauty of the northern lights, the breath of the Arctic Ocean, the charm of Lake Baikal or the lush virginity of the Altai Mountains. Years ago Yordan Radichkov toured the lands of his homeland on foot. He warmed the hearts of young workers with news of their beautiful impulses. Later he discovered his beloved Arcadia, where he settled the people he met in his native land. Then he crossed Europe. He drank coffee on the Champs Elysees, his shadow wandered by the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. He listened to Ave Maria in Rome. He walked along the seaside boulevards of Cannes.

It is an undeniable historical truth that the Bulgarian nation affirms its conquests in the field of culture, art and literature with organic closeness and deep brotherly love for the great Russian people. Without denying the undoubted independent contribution of our people to the treasury of human thought and art, one should not underestimate the enormous contribution of Russian culture to our spiritual development. More than half a century ago, one of our greatest writers and thinkers - Pencho Slaveykov - made the following significant recognition: "Russia liberated us politically. Even children know this. But Russia liberated us mentally; to her, above all, we owe that small culture that we have for now and which is the best guarantee for the culture of the spirit in our further life and development.

This tremor was a single one, but strong enough to shake the entire planet. Extraordinary. And inimitable, because it was the first. . . Prepared by the entire development of humanity, it fertilized it so that the dawn would be born - no, but the sun of the great world hope. Until recently, it was a "utopia," a "wandering ghost" that panicked popes and emperors, kings and policemen, kings and magnates feared. They are still afraid now. And that is why they entered and continue to enter into a sacred alliance to fight against this great hope, transformed by the Bolsheviks into an invincible force... But despite all the crusades against it, despite the elite armies of that Europe that sent them to the East, despite all the spells and anathemas, today, as never before, the unquenchable fires of October burn brighter, and the ideas of Marx and Lenin march victoriously even over that world that longed to embrace their banner.

The poetic originality and creative personality of the patriarch of Bulgarian literature are again at the center of Milena Tsaneva's second book about the poet - Ivan Vazov in Plovdiv" (Nauka i Izkustvo Publishing House, Sofia, 1966). One year after her literary-critical articles published in "From the Poetic World of Ivan Vazov" (1965), she again meets with readers, directing them to her monographic study of the writer's multifaceted life and fruitful creative pursuits, connected with the capital of Eastern Rumelia. Only six years - from 1880 to 1886 - Ivan Vazov spent in the center of the Autonomous Region, and they turned out to be so extremely beneficial for the creative growth and overall appearance of the people's writer.

Somehow suddenly his fiftieth birthday came. And it surprised others more than the poet, since youth always remains with people who nourish their energy with the vital juices of spiritual youth. And it is inexhaustible and does not recognize the physical limits of any age. It always awakens the inner human strength, increases the enthusiasm, flights of thought, inspiration and moral impulses. That is why Veselin Andreev remains the same noble fighter of the party, with a youthful soul, responsive to the masculine beauty in life and the new light of our ideal. The same party warrior and poet, with spiritualized and bright humanity, with moral purity and with an always cheerful, always sensitive and generous heart, always ready to give it to people.

Iskra Panova presented her first book to readers. In it, she speaks her mind in a new way in our contemporary literary studies. Without departing from the best in the tradition of literary studies, she sweeps up independent terrain in an area where long-standing traditions are still absent in our country... Breaking ground in the complex field of stylistic analysis of the work of art, Panova has long thought through each step of her innovative work. She is not in a hurry to theorize about the results of her work, but she does not underestimate them either. She is not in a hurry to make generalizations, but she does not hide the rational in her difficult experiment. She proclaims less her guiding principles, which she relies on in her aesthetic analyses, but in return she gives her own arrangement of her scientific observations, derived according to the laws of an objective criterion. But no matter how discreet an author she turns out to be, she sheds abundant light on the complexity of the problem, draws her own conclusions, takes into account the complexity of the artistic evolution of the individual artist, in the three classics and reveals a number of regularities in the development of the literary process in Bulgarian literature from the recent past.

Recently, in the Smetana Hall of the National House in Prague, a closed VI International Congress of Slavic Scholars was opened. Nearly two thousand of the most famous Slavic scholars in the world and as many guests had the opportunity, over the course of a whole week, to communicate in debates from the stands or in intimate conversations on the ancient streets and parks of Prague; to exchange scientific considerations and thoughts, searching for the great truth about the past and present life of the Slavic peoples, about their spiritual closeness with other non-Slavic peoples, about their common civic quests and spiritual aspirations, about their closeness in everyday life, in language, in verbal folk and personal creativity... And this great conversation about the peculiar fate of Slavism, which began again in the same hall approximately four decades ago at the First Slavic Congress (1929), is constantly expanding and deepening. More and more participants are making their modest contribution; More and more Slavic scholars are presenting their insights and discoveries, their themes and aspirations, solutions, hypotheses and concepts into scientific circulation... Sometimes - successfully defended and scientifically argued, and sometimes without analysis and based on random signs, without a deep knowledge of the facts and based on data devoid of any scientific systematics.

The time after the arrest of Nikola Vaptsarov until his execution poses with utmost clarity the questions about the meaning of human life and the irresistible need for self-sacrifice, about civic valor, about a dignified death, about the comradeship and moral purity of a person who enters forever into the memory of the people... His researchers will have to return to this last and tragic period of the poet's creative life. because this supreme stage further reveals the true feat of the communist artist in many ways and in a unique way. As is known, Vaptsarov was arrested on March 4, 1942, at three or four o'clock in the morning, together with his little brother Boris and their cousin Lyubcho Vezev. The previous evening they had a meeting at the poet's home (37 Angel Kanchev Street) with Tsvyatko Radoynov and stayed until 11 o'clock at night. Vaptsarov was often forced to sleep in other people's rooms so that the police would lose track of him. This absence from home began more often from the beginning of September 1941, when Vaptsarov took over the position of head of the special (mining) activity at the Central Committee of the Bulgarian People's Revolutionary Party (k). Since then, he became a professional revolutionary, carrying out the B B B decision of the party.