site.btaProf. Licheva: Georgi Gospodinov's "The Gardener and Death" Is Bulgaria's Literary Event of 2024

In the truest sense of the word, the literary event of 2024 in Bulgaria is The Gardener and Death by International Booker Prize winner Georgi Gospodinov, Prof. Amelia Licheva said in an interview with BTA's Gergana Nikolova. Licheva is an outstanding poetess and literary critic, and teaches literature theory at the Sofia University.

According to her, the book has garnered praise from critics and readers alike because it provokes thought. It has created new readers because it has made many people realize the impact of literature. Finally, she pointed out, the novel has opened Bulgarian literature to the “diaries” of illness, death, and life after loss.

In her view, there have been two other literary “anti-events” this year. One of them is the death of writer Alek Popov – “one of the great names of contemporary Bulgarian literature, a master of irony and humor, and a brilliant storyteller who knew how to intertwine realities,” to use Licheva's words. The other “anti-event” was the call of the Union of Bulgarian Writers to expell John Malkovich and the cancellation of Bernard Shaw's play "Arms and the Man". Written more than 100 years ago and slightly naïve, the play is anti-war in its tone and ironic towards clichés and stereotypes, explained Prof. Licheva.

She noted that although not exactly “events” due to their smaller circulation and limited attention they attracted, several works remain of great importance for contemporary trends in world literature. These include When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut (translated by Zahari Omaynikov), Orbital by Samantha Harvey (translated by Petya Petkova), The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez (translated by Zahari Omaynikov), Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin (translated by Kaloyan Ignatovski) published by Labyrinth publishing house, and Not a River by Selva Almada (published by Aquarius, translation by Kaloyan Ignatovski). Another highly significant book is Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari (published by East-West, translation by Rosen Lyutskanov)

Social issues in the writings of established Bulgarian writers

A large number of books are published in Bulgaria each year, Prof. Licheva said. "I don’t claim to be familiar with all trends, and I don’t follow genres like fantasy, pseudo-historical novels, or the mass-market reads that top the charts. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with popular literature: it exists everywhere and satisfies the needs of a broad group of readers. However, in the Bulgarian context, some of the popular authors – lately, these are mainly female writers – want to be recognized as elite, and that is what I object to," she added. She praised Maria Laleva, who has a huge following, for introducing the topic of refugees into her writing, "giving her readers a chance, if not to cultivate greater sensitivity to the issue, at least to become more tolerant towards it."

As for more enduring trends among established Bulgarian writers, one of them is the social theme, Prof. Licheva noted. That could be the lives of the poor and disadvantaged, abandoned children, and families who have sent loved ones to work abroad, as in Zdravka Evtimova’s Freckled Stories (by Zhanet 45), or the attempt to create a dystopia of the present, as a society losing its sensitivity towards others and lacking the practice of compassion, as seen in You, My Likeness by Radoslav Bimbalov (by Ciela).

Another theme that is emerging is violence against women – again, Evtimova in the same collection of stories.

Books are still being published that focus on life-under-socialism, and finally, we have novels where Bulgarian literature steps into the global arena, as with “The Gardener and Death,” added Amelia Licheva.

Bulgarian literature is now permanently present abroad

Asked how the relationship between authors and readers has changed over the past year, Prof. Licheva responded by referencing her observations of the audience at the recent Sofia International Literary Festival.

"Among the most attended meetings were those with Georgi Gospodinov and Vladimir Zarev. At Gospodinov's event, there were even 14-15-year-old children. And many young people. I’ve always said that Georgi Gospodinov has made reading fashionable among young people. There were also young people at all the events with foreign authors. But interest in foreign authors was slim compared to local ones. What is more, at the meetings with foreign authors, writers and literature professors were conspicuously absent. There were many stars [among the foreign authors visiting the Sofia International Literary Festival]– Tim Parks, Ilya Pfeifer, Anne Eykhout, Agnes Desart, João Luis Barreto Guimaraes, Miguel Bonfoa… I mention this because it is wonderful that we love local writers, but it would be good if we could be a bit more curious about the global literary scene," the critic said.

According to Amelia Licheva, Bulgarian literature is now firmly established abroad. She pointed out that this is due to the ongoing efforts of Bulgarian philologist translators, the work of Bulgarian organizations like Elizabeth Kostova Foundation and The House for Literature and Translation, and the newly established literary agency with the Janet 45 publishing house. "Above all, it is thanks to the breakthrough of Georgi Gospodinov, who has gained significant recognition abroad and sparked interest in other Bulgarian authors," she added.

Gospodinov and his English translator Angela Rodel won the 2023 International Booker Prize for the English translation of his novel Time Shelter.

Literary criticism is alive and well

Contrary to the mantra that there is no literary criticism, Prof. Amelia Licheva emphasized that literary criticism does exist in Bulgaria and is doing its job. She noted that it can be found in specialized newspapers, magazines, and websites.

"The problem is that it’s not being widely read. In the past, young people would choose books based on reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, but now they don’t even read those and rely on recommendations from friends. So, we have to fight to write criticism that provokes interest in the genre in general," she added.

Amelia Licheva is a poet and literary critic. She is a professor of literature theory at Sofia University. She is the author of several theoretical books as well as poetry collections. Her poems have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Slovak, Croatian, Hungarian, and Arabic. She is the editor-in-chief of Literaturen Vestnik [Literary Newspaper]. Since June 2023, she has been the president of the Bulgarian PEN Center. At a general assembly held on November 17, 2023, she was elected dean of the Faculty of Slavic Philology at Sofia University.