Борис

Boris Delchev's new book is devoted entirely to the work of the generation of poets born between the two wars, most of whom developed their creative work after September 9th. This fact alone indicates that it has a direct bearing on the vital issues of our contemporary literature. Written with skill and argumentation, with intellectual nerve, the book draws the creative physiognomies of Veselin Khanchev, Bozhidar Bozhilov, Aleksandar Gerov, Ivan Radoev, Aleksandar Vutimski, Tsvetan Spasov. Delchev sheds abundant light on the complex problematics and contradictions of their poetry, on the winding creative and civic path of the main poets of the generation.

The merits of Boris Delchev's new book - the collection of memoir essays "I knew these people" I find in three directions: in the excitement with which the author communicates with the artists; in the erudition of the literary critic; in the conscientiousness of the scientific worker. And if all these features are expressed and collected through such a peculiar genre as the memoir essay, then the author would present us - and in our case it is so - an interesting and bright book. Moreover, here the concept of "memoir essay" is used very conditionally and should not be understood in the narrow sense. The subject of the image is not random communications or meetings, nor everyday details related to the personality of the artists under consideration: in a colorful way in Boris Delchev's essays, the memoir coexists with the actively expressed contemporary position; literary-critical assessments are intertwined with artistic journalism. The author does not seek the dimensions of moral and literary qualities of his characters through the concreteness of the situations. His ethical measure is much more voluminous and multifaceted, the concrete situation is skillfully woven as a detail of an overall picture. With each fragment, a creative profile stands out more and more brightly against a corresponding socio-historical background.