From 5 to 13 February Sredets Gallery in Sofia is hosting the exhibition, Ivan Vazov, the Loved One. It marks the 165th birth anniversary of classic Ivan Vazov, the great poet, novelist and playwright. More about the anniversary, from poet and critic Mirela Ivanova, chief curator at the Vazov museum-house in the capital city:

"Anyone of us Bulgarians can discover themselves in his robust creative legacy going across various genres. He is Bulgaria's national writer because he provides an in-depth and extensive portrayal of all things Bulgarian, the way are - with both the high and low aspects of the national character. However, the most important lesson he wanted to teach us is to try and love ourselves the way we are. After all he loved his country and its people unconditionally. Vazov would tell us that should we fail to go to the seven Rila lakes, we could at least read his brilliant travel notes The Great Wilderness of Rila, or should we lack in good wording for our love for Bulgaria or disenchantment with her, we could at least turn to his poem Beloved Fatherland. If we take a look around we would immediately come across Vazovian quotes in various public messages, including in advertising. On both tragic and festive occasions, he is the most often quoted poet. When Bulgarian soldiers died in Karbala, Iraq, in 2003, the mourning book at the Ministry of Defense was full of quotes from his celebrated elegy The New Cemetery Above Slivnitsa. Many Bulgarians had simply borrowed Vazov's unsurpassed expression of grief.”

Vazov was endowed with a huge talent, and even more importantly he had a strong sense of a mission.

"Most probably, he had a very heavy cross to carry, being the national bard of Bulgaria. However, despite that his life until he turned 45 was full of hardships and reckless adventures he never steered away from his mission of being the bard of Bulgaria. So we can quite definitely argue that he had a very tough character, tough as the Balkan Range where he came from, and he unwaveringly served his mission pen in hand, and thus did his great service to Bulgaria.”

Mirela Ivanova tells us more about translations of Vazov works abroad.

"Well, fact is that Ivan Vazov is the most translated Bulgarian writer of all time. And, it is curious to know that the novel Under the Yoke was translated and released in English ahead of its first autonomous edition in Bulgaria. The translation was made using the version of the novel published in the Miscellany of Folklore and Literature released by the Ministry of Public Education in Sofia. Recently, Professor of English Alexander Shurbanov and renowned British Slavicist Prof. Michael Holman suggested a new interpretation of the first translations of Under the Yoke through an exploration of their base. In the same vein of thought, the Swedish edition of the novel, outstripped the autonomous Bulgarian one too. The Danish translation was released almost simultaneously with the first Bulgarian edition. Ten years after the novel's official release it was translated into almost all major European languages, and in all neighboring countries. It has been compared to Homer's epic and called a national epic. Today, there are new translations of the novel because language is like a living thing and never stops changing and growing. In both America and France, new translations display a more contemporary language.”

The Sredets Gallery exhibition features thirty works by prominent artists such as Ivan Mrkvicka, Anton Mitov, Petar Morozov, Zheko Spiridonov, Rayko Alexiev, Georgi Evstatiev and Andrey Nikolov that Vazov received as a token of great love and respect for him. Other items on display include congratulatory addresses and a silver lyre with a wreath with names of Vazovian works written on its leaves. Why Vazov was loved so much?

"Here we display the gifts that great masters of art gave to him. However, a look at the letters that he got from across the country and from the frontlines of the Second Balkan War of 1913 and World War 1 from soldiers, and later from parents of soldiers who had died in combat, makes clear he enjoyed the nation's genuine love and admiration that he fully reciprocated. His contemporaries knew for sure that there was a Bulgarian man of letters, a great man, who was able to defend the national dignity and appease their grieving souls. Ivan Vazov is unique on the Bulgarian public scene with his comprehensive and majestic presence during his lifetime, and posthumously as well”, Mirela Ivanova concludes.

English Daniela Konstantinova