In 2014 Bulgaria marks the 95^th birth anniversary of renowned Bulgarian writer Nikolai Haitov who passed away in 2002.  “The celebration of such anniversaries is irrelevant and unnecessary”, Haitov once said on occasion of his 80^th birth anniversary. Nikolai Haitov was a colorful and bright personality. His biography was similar to the one of an American writer - he was an engineer and forester who dismissed from work for breach. He worked as an unskilled laborer, door-keeper and waiter. Years later he placed among the greatest men of letters worldwide and headed the Union of Bulgarian Writers. Heis the author of the Wild Stories collection which was published in 32 countries. His theatre plays Pathways, Boat in the Forest and Dogs have been a constant part of the Bulgarian theatre repertoire. Films such as The Goat Horn, Man’s Time, The End of the Song, Tree Without a Root and Destiny are part of the country’s film classic.

Bulgaria’s capital Sofia marks the 95^th anniversary of the celebrated writer in September with various initiatives, including Nikolai Haitov’s Week marked on the airwaves of the Bulgarian National Radio. The exhibition entitled Nikolai Haitov’s characters in the caricatures of Boris Dimovski is to be launched at the Union of Bulgarian Architects. A photo exhibition named Nikolai Haitov’s World can be seen in Sredets hall at the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture. The exhibition includes photos of renowned Bulgarian artist and photographer Ivo Hadjimishev shot in the village of Ribnovo and black and white photos from Nikolai Haitov’s private photo archive.

“I must say that I am very grateful to Nikolai Haitov for letting me into his life”, Ivo Hadjimishev told Radio Bulgaria. “When I was in my early twenties I had the opportunity to travel with him across the Rhodopes. Haitov made sure people welcomed me the same way they welcomed him. People from every village loved him a lot. Later I started to work on an exhibition dedicated to Nikolai Haitov’s work and the Rhodopes on the occasion of the publication of the Wild Stories collection in England. British linguist, slavicist and expert in Bulgarian philology Michael Holman made a wonderful translation of this book. Practically, this was our first trip abroad. Haitov invited Holman to travel with us. The idea of this exhibition was to show to foreign viewers some aspects of life in Bulgaria, some life stereotypes, some prototypes of the characters from the Wild Stories collection and the life atmosphere in Bulgaria’s countryside. It was a very difficult task, because people were used to show only the successes of the socialist state at that time. In fact we showed certain characters which contradicted the norms in the socialist period and peoples’ understanding even. I remember that the authorities made a three hour inspection of the photographs before they allowed us to take them abroad. Haitov told me the following: ‘I leave you alone now. I will come later to give you a hand, but you must learn yourself haw to fight for your works. No one can defend your photographs, if you can not do it yourself.’ These were some of the lessons I learnt from Nikolai Haitov. During our joint trips I had the opportunity to see how Nikolai used to sit on the threshold of a given village barn and listened to the stories of the elderly people. He traveled from place to place across the Rhodope Mountains and collected various stories. He was an excellent listener and did everything with great love”, Ivo Hadjimishev concludes.

Haitov’s World exhibition will move to Assenovgrad Art Gallery on September 27, where the Week of Nikolai Haitov will be marked as well. From September 22 until September 29 the Old Town in Plovdiv hosts the film panorama entitled Nikolai Haitov’s Presence in Bulgarian Cinema.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: Ivo Hadjimishev and the writer's private archive