Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poet and storyteller Sasho Serafimov for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is Lydia Lecheva’s translation of that conversation.

What would you like for the American readers to know about Bulgarian poetry?

Beautiful poetry has no nationality, it is like air—invisible but vital for everyone alive because it is embedded in each of us. The entire spiritual wealth of the world comes from the source of poetry, where one soul speaks to another. Words are only the visual expression, the clothing of the invisible world. However, each nation’s poetry has its ancestral roots. The tree of life of my country has suffered a lot over millennia but has left its signs along the way—that is our language. It is exactly where our history stays alive, where knowledge lies, and using it, our ancestors went through pogroms and victories. There shines the golden scepter of King Simeon; also there, in the Cathedral of time, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, Clement, Gorazd and Angelarius have stood. There again, during the wild time of slavery, crystals of words, mixed with blood, glory and fire were born. Continue reading →

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poetry and prose writer Krasimir Vardyev for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is a translation of that conversation.

What would you like for the American readers to know about Bulgarian poetry?

That it is not all that different. Here, too, people get born, get together, separate, die. Life is complex, multidimensional and has nothing in common with the news. Similar things excite us, and things happen for similar reasons. Our poetry is good, just the language puts us into narrow cultural frames.

What would you like for the American readers to know about you personally?

Thirty five years old. I live in a small house in the woods outside the city of Shumen together with two feral Siamese cats – Genghis and Arsenya. Happy or unhappy, as the case may be. And yes – gay.

Besides Penelope

I, circe
thirty-two years old
mythologically muddled
at least discovered
I’m not immortal
I lie awaiting
the eternal returning
the cycles of bliss
I smoke in bed
plowing
the blue sheets
my hand is a ship
I read seferis
and next to me
meekly snores
yet another pig
for a long time now
I haven’t enjoyed
loneliness

-Krasimir Vardyev,
translated from Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer

Is there an American poet who has influenced you or has made an impression on you? How do you interact with American poetry?

Bukowski, Brodsky. The American novelists, however, are those who have built my worldview (and also me as a person and as an author) – Mark Twain, Vonnegut, and from the contemporaries – Andrew Sean Greer. I read in original, as well, but my introduction to American poetry happened thanks to wonderful translations, of course.

What forms of cultural exchange between Bulgaria and the U.S. would you find interesting, practical and helpful?

To translate living American poets into Bulgarian! This is a good start.

What do you wish for the anthology and its readers?

Wonderful moments. Enriching experience. Creative contemplation. And a woman president.

More from Accents Publishing’s “Meet a Bulgarian Poet” series:

• Ivan Hristov:
• Ekaterina Yosifova
• Vladislav Hristov
• Valentin Dishev
• Emanuil Vidinski

Krasimir Vardyev was born on May 17th, 1978 in Beloslav. He holds a degree from Kontantin Preslavsky University of Shumen. He has received awards for his poetry and prose, among which is the Southern Spring Award for his debut poetry collection, Curb, in 2001. From 1998 to 2003, he was a co-organizer and participant in the “Street Poetry” campaign. His second poetry book, Symbiosis, was published in 2007. Krasimir lives and works in Sofia.

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poet Ivan Hristov for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is a translation of that conversation.

What would you like American readers to learn about Bulgarian poetry?

Way back in 1931, the American writer and journalist Reuben Markham wrote in his book, Meet Bulgaria: “Bulgarian poetry is restless, throbbing, moving. It contains but few psalms and rarely soothes or calms; it plunges one into the depths, bears him off on the wings of passion, sweeps him into grand crusades.” (Meet Bulgaria, published in Sofia in 1931 by the Stopansko Razvitie or “Economic Development” Publishing House). I would like to convince American readers that he was right. In fact, even though on the one hand Bulgarians and Americans are different, on the other hand we have much in common. Both of our nations are relatively young. Even though we Bulgarians like to believe that we have a glorious medieval past, in actuality the new Bulgarian state truly began functioning only in the late 19^th century with the end of Ottoman rule. Both Bulgarians and Americans are hospitable to guests and tolerant of differences. Both Bulgarians and Americans love good food and good wine; we both love and hate passionately. Both nations are stepping ever more confidently and steadily on the international scene. Both nations are ever more clearly finding their missions and identities. Continue reading →

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poet Ekaterina Yosifova for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is a translation of that conversation.

What would you like for the American readers to know about Bulgarian poetry? 

It doesn’t matter which readers, it doesn’t matter whose poetry – as long as it’s Poetry. It exists. Everywhere and at all times, since man (pre-literacy) felt excited by owning this peculiar sense of understanding, entering…. We need it. The encounters are joyful.  Continue reading →

Who is Jason Sizemore?

If you look me up in Merriam-Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, you’ll find a little black and white etching of me (sans the glasses) next to the following definitions:

1) A nerd and/or geek with a variety of oddball interests. Included in these interests are books, Sherlock (the Benedict Cumberbatch edition), publishing, editing, and pumpkin spice latte (before the hipsters sapped the ‘cool’ out of it).

 

2) A self-involved Hugo and Stoker Award-nominated editor who runs Apex Publications.

 

3) A guy who has trouble pronouncing the common work ‘horror’ and the beautiful name ‘Katerina’.

 

4) An individual who values a nice mix of professionalism and fun.

The list goes on and on, but as an editor, I’ve found it is always best to leave enough mystery in order to keep an audience interested.  Continue reading →

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poet Vladislav Hristov for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is a translation of that conversation.

What would you like for the American readers to know about Bulgarian poetry?

I’d like them to know that despite the small size of our country, our poetry is not at all small in significance, that we have world-class poets, even though they’re not too well-known outside Bulgaria. I believe one day this will change. Continue reading →

James Pfeifer interviews Lori A. May about her new poetry book, Square Feet (Accents Publishing, 2014) 

Square Feet focuses on domestic space. And I think in its narrowing in, it allows us to see things we might be over-accustomed to, like the kitchen table, with fresh eyes.  What are the difficulties in working with material (like the home) that your reader likely has deep personal associations with? What are the strengths? 

I enjoyed taking a fresh look at what seems so familiar. Whether it was everyday objects or spaces—like the junk drawer—or nooks and crannies we try to avoid, it was for exactly what you’ve said, that we have personal associations with these things, that made the process of Square Feet so engaging. Our domestic spaces are personal, but that’s also what unites us in a way. We all have our creature comforts, our favorite coffee mugs or pieces of clothing. We have our outside worlds and our private worlds, so this collection encouraged me to explore the lines between the private and the public, to blur those lines and expose those personal attachments and feelings. I suppose the risk is that a reader may not feel as my poetic speakers do, but I hope there is something to connect to, on some level, that still offers a take-away.

How did this collection come into being? Was there an aha moment where you decided the collection would focus on the home or was the process more organic?

I had drafted a few poems that all related to the domestic in one way or another, but it wasn’t until I saw that these were more about relationships within the domestic space, and how those relationships are shifted or shaped by their environments and material accessories that I began to think in terms of a cohesive collection. The title came to me in a sudden burst early on and I knew immediately Square Feet worked, both as a title and for a frame to work within. I continued to draft so-called random poems, but any time a poem fell into my theme and framework, I set it aside for the collection.

What did you learn about home or domesticity in writing this collection?

I think I learned what I already knew, but the process of writing cemented a few notions, for sure. How we value our privacy once we close the doors to our home, yet open up to vulnerabilities when we invite others into our space. We trust others in such personal and private spaces, hoping there is no judgment, cringing at the thought of what others think of our messy closets, dusty window frames, chipped serving platters. We so often work to hide pieces of ourselves and present the best-of in the outside public space, but it’s harder to hide things in the home. And we shouldn’t have to. But it was an interesting process to bring together a few speakers and alternating points-of-view in this collection, to reveal how fragile that trust is and how guarded we can be in our personal spaces, particularly when we feel threatened.

In addition to poetry, you write fiction and creative nonfiction. How does your work in prose influence your poetry, and how does your poetry influence your prose?

On any given day I’ll work on both prose and verse, so the two definitely intersect for me. I’ll think about sound and diction when working on prose, like I would with poetry, just to challenge myself and make deliberate choices. In poetry, I’ll take a step back to think how the draft speaks to a story arc and what I might do to enliven the imagery and point of view.

What do you hope readers will encounter in Square Feet?

I hope readers will see something new in what is commonplace. I hope readers will walk away from this collection with a sense of discovery and perhaps a sense of unity, in that affirmation that we are all so similar when it comes to what we want, how we behave, and what we desire. Life is challenging and hectic and chaotic most days, but it’s also kind of simple. We all work toward similar goals and dreams, when you get to the base of things, and I think that’s interesting. “That is part of the beauty of all literature,” F. Scott Fitzgerald said. “You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” My hope is that readers will see something of themselves in Square Feet and maybe nod a little the next time they open up that junk drawer.

Square Feet is currently available from the Accents Store.

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poet Valentin Dishev for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is her translation of that conversation.

What would you like for the American readers to know about Bulgarian poetry?

That it’s alive, very much alive. And I’d be happy if the readers were ready enough to read into, feel, see and realize the enormous wealth of poetic traditions which comprise it, which cross through its openness, and—in its best representatives and representations—create a huge volume, space, where the seeking spirit has numerous opportunities to find itself… Continue reading →

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poet Emanuil Vidinski for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is her translation of that conversation.

What would you like for the American readers to know about Bulgarian poetry?

That a person’s problems are universal, but have a local flavor; that the world is a collective place, which we inhabit together, and everywhere poetry is the language of intimacy.

What would you like for the American readers to know about you personally?

I seek poetry in music and music in poetry, and when I write, I do it because I cannot not do it. Continue reading →

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer interviewed poet Petja Heinrich for The Season of Delicate Hunger: Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry. Here is her translation of that conversation.

What would you like for the American readers to know about Bulgarian poetry?

Manyfaced, fragile, resilient. Nurtured with sea, bread and sun. Often thoughtful and nostalgic. Friendly, human, sometimes particularly brightly experimental, nicely untidy. Is it truly like this? I’m not sure.

What would you like for the American readers to know about you personally?

Poet. That’s enough. Here is more: I live in Germany, but I was born in Bulgaria. I’m often told that my poems are influenced by another culture, that they’re not entirely Bulgarian. But I write in Bulgarian, because this is the language that gives me great power. For me it is distinct from day-to-day use and has turned into a language only for poetry.

Pigeonish

Then man didn’t age, but rather moved from one state of being to
another. From childhood to youth, from youth to elderhood, from
elderhood to death, from death to seed… . Then time was invented.
Master Fritz examines a gear under the magnifying glass. And as he
studies it, he scatters into pearls. A pigeon flutters in the clock tower.

–Petja Heinrich,
The Season of Delicate Hunger (2013)

Is there an American poet who has influenced you or has made a an impression on you? How do you interact with American poetry?

It’s likely that I’m influenced by everything I’ve read that made an impression on me. Here are a few names of American poets, the encounters of whose poetry remain unforgettable: William Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, Charles Reznikoff, Elizabeth Bishop, John Ashbury, Robert Pinsky, Jonas Mekas.  The last one is better known in America for his alternative film art, but he’s a significant poet in his native Lithuania.

What do you wish for the anthology and its readers?

Poetry connects. This anthology is a path. I wish for its readers to walk this path with pleasure and to discover valuable things.

More in the “Meet a Bulgarian Poet” series:

• Yordan Efftimov
• Kristin Dimitrova

Petja Heinrich was born on October 4th, 1973 in Sofia. She holds a degree in journalism from St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia. She translates poetry from German into Bulgarian and has contributed to various German and Bulgarian publications. Petja is the founder of poetry print journal But Poetry, and she frequently blogs at mislidumi.de. She is the author of four books of poetry, most recently Fly Up and Catch Us (2012). She lives in Düsseldorf, Germany. She is a biker who talks with birds.