Веселин

I vividly remember an incident from the first years after the war. At that time, the Writers' Union was located on Lege Street and had only two or three modest rooms, which could hardly accommodate even its administrative and editorial departments, which were still very small at that time. Therefore, when general meetings of the members were necessary, difficulties arose and it was necessary to seek temporary shelter under someone else's roof. Thus, somewhat unexpectedly, in March 1947, the general annual meeting was held in the large concert hall of Radio Sofia.

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 always interesting to follow the creative development of a talented poet, to see his persistent searches, those elusive, barely noticeable zigzags in his path, his gradual growth, the changes that occur with him. And this tracing is so instructive. It can protect us from mistaken and hasty enthusiasms when assessing artists, especially young ones. Every true development of talent is terribly individual, uneven in its external manifestations. And yet there is always a common basis. The life and activity of the creative personality are the same and at the same time - always different, new, unique. In the original, inspired creativity, as in a starry sky, the diversity of the near and far, bright and paler stars, of the iridescent combinations of colorful contrasts, amazes. In each of the individual particles there are impulses, separate worlds are hidden, paths to the infinite. There is no beginning and no end - and at the same time, it seems that each of the stars is both a beginning and an end... AND AND When we admire the work of an interesting poet, we may be surprised by the beginning of his searches. Often the first creative impulses present the artist in a special light. Often later on he is completely different, at least that is how he appears externally. Because at the core there is always something that connects the diverse manifestations, gives a strictly outlined completeness, makes even polar phenomena acceptably united in a unique and healthy unity, in a whole. In poetry we always observe a deep individual meaningfulness, there is always something regular, truthful, LOGICAL.

On April 24, 1969, the public defense of Hristo Yordanov's dissertation on the topic "Veselin Andreev - Life and Creativity" took place. In the presence of the members of the scientific council, the research associates of the Institute of Literature and many citizens, the reviewers Acad. Pantelei Zarev and Prof. Efrem Karanfilov read their reviews of the proposed work, emphasizing its merits: conscientious study of the material, penetration into the contemporary problems of our literature, kinship with the work of Veselin Andreev, building an accurate portrait of a moral and creative personality. In his review, Acad. P. Zarev emphasized that he fully shared the main concept of the dissertationist: the beauty and humanism of the socialist revolution give birth to poets and communists worthy of the traditions of our literature, coming from Botev. He also pointed out that the life and work of Veselin Andreev are presented in relief and so illuminated that they are turned into a truthful apology for communist ideas. Prof. E. Karanfilov pointed out that Yordanov comes to some interesting problems about the transition between realism and romanticism, about socialist humanism in our poetry, about revolutionary optimism, etc.