Tag Archives: bulgaria

Katerina Hosts Seminar on Bulgarian Methods for Health, Beauty, Protection and Connection to Spirit

Founder and Senior Editor of Accents Publishing, Katerina Stoykova-Klemer, will be hosting a workshop this weekend in Danville, Kentucky focused on health, beauty, protection and connection to spirit.

Here is information from Katerina:

Would you like to learn a series of time-tested and widely-used methods and recipes created and used by the Bulgarian people? What are some typical spiritual rituals and traditions? What are some things Bulgarians do when they need to boost their immune system, get over a cold, take care of their skin, protect from negativity, get rid of a headache or heal from an emotional shock?

This one-day workshop is taught by the Bulgarian-American Katerina Stoykova who was born and raised in Bulgaria and has lived in the USA for over twenty years. Workshop is offered on Saturday, the 14th of January 2017 and Sunday, the 15th of January 2017, so choose the day that works best for you. We will start at 10 am and will finish at 2pm, with a short lunch break in between. Cost is $50.00, and it includes a delicious, authentic Bulgarian lunch.

If you would like more information about specific locations, dates, and reservations, please fill out the following contact form, which will send an email directly to Katerina.

[contact-form to=’ksklemer@gmail.com’ subject=’Re:Bulgarian Workshop’][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’/][/contact-form]

20 Years in the USA: Katerina Stoykova-Klemer’s Anniversary Reading and Celebration

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Accents founder and Senior Editor Katerina Stoykova-Klemer will be hosting a reading and celebration tonight at the Lexington Public Library’s Farish Theater!

September 22nd is the 20th anniversary of the day I stepped on American land. A lot has changed since then – countries, homes, people, cities.

I would love for you to join me on that day at 6:30 pm at The Farish Theater to let me read you a few poems about immigration, immigrating, making a space yours, making your self into your home.

Bring your handkerchiefs, but also your smiling faces, for this will be a celebration!

This will be an opportunity for me to thank you in person for making me feel welcome and loved in your wonderful country.

Love and light to you, good people of Kentucky!

Yours,
Katerina Stoykova-Klemer

We would love to have you there, and if you’re able to come, feel free to RSVP on the Facebook Event page.

“Homecoming” by Krasimir Vardyev

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come back
to the garden of eden
even
the worms
there
grieve
for you

the fruits
there
dream
of your teeth

the lianas
thirst
to embrace
your white
waxy
ribs

at the memory
of your slender
body
the lake
smiles
in waves

the ghost
of your old dog
under the bench
dreams
and twitches

the green moss
under the apple tree
still holds
forms
of bodies

the spiders
heard
you’re coming
they’re knitting
bed sheets
for you

the blossoms
of the trees
fly away
each spring
seeking
your hair

the empty pantry
dreams of
holidays

the great grandchildren
of your first
cat
recount
legends
of people

scattered
in grass and flowers
the beads
think
they are stones

the elastic native
presses you
the legs
start resembling
roots
breathe deeply

-Krasimir Vardyev,
translated from Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger
(Accents Publishing)

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.

“Lunch Break” by Olya Stoyanova

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The man
who guards the mosque—
at noon
leaves the door open—
hops into
the nearby
café California
for two sandwiches and a coke—
— At this time
even Allah rests—
he tells the vendor,
she smiles,
and he, on his way back,
runs.

–Olya Stoyanova,
translated from Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger:
Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry
(Accents Publishing)

Olya Stoyanova was born on September 14th, 1977 in Sofia. She holds a degree in journalism from St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia. She has worked as a journalist for the newspaper Dnevnik, and has served as the editor for several literary publications. Olya is the author of three poetry books, most recently Happiness Street (2013), as well as a novel, a travel guide and a short story collection. She has won prizes for her poetry, prose, journalism and playwriting. Olya is the mother of three children and lives in Sofia.

“she prepares a romantic dinner…” by Yordanka Beleva

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she prepares a romantic dinner
do we need anything else he asks
should I go out for bread or wine

go take out the trash
she says and thinks
instead of bread or wine
one day he’ll come back

with two raw hearts for dinner

–Yordanka Beleva,
translated from the Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger:
Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry
(Accents Publishing)

Yordanka Beleva was born on June 20th, 1977 in Tervel. She holds a degree in Bulgarian philology and library management from Kontantin Preslavsky University of Shumen. She is the author of three poetry books, most recently Her (2012), as well as a collection of stories. Yordanka has received various awards for her poetry, including first place in the Veselin Hanchev National Contest. She lives and writes in Sofia.

“A Dream About the Wall and the Key” by Nikolay Boykov

“The Sand of Time” by Sasho Serafimov

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It’s easy to speak with another’s words,
it’s easy to war with another’s power,
it’s easy to spend another’s money.

All of me is see-through,
and the thoughts I share today
have likely been voiced by another.
I’d like to say a single word
which reflects the world
the way a drop reflects the color palette.

I do nothing more than the ant,
walk and carry the seed,
when I see a spring—
drink from its water
when I discover a path—
put up a sign
that the world is passable.

Sometimes it’s so dangerous to get lost.

Even the child knows where she’s going
when running toward the waves
with a bucket in hand,
she carries the sand of time gone by
to build a dream.

–Sasho Serafimov,
translated from the Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger

Sasho Serafimov was born on August 30th, 1953 in Dobrich. He holds a degree from Slavic University in Sofia in social pedagogy. He is the author of six poetry books, most recently The Elderly Die at the End of the World, as well as a book of children’s stories, Confused Tales. Sasho’s play, The Teller of Tales, was awarded third place in the Golden Dolphin International Puppet Theatre Festival. He’s married and has a beard.

“White Snake” by Ekaterina Yosifova

2,308 Replies

And if I just imagine
what I would do, were I
the conscious reptile!—That is to say,
I’d pick the apple,
I wouldn’t hand it over to any ignorant female,
much less to Adam; then
I’d start eating, alone,
bit by bit:

consciousness, knowledge,
awareness.

–Ekaterina Yosifova,
translated from Bulgarian by
Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger (2013)

Interview with Ekaterina Yosifova

Ekaterina Yosifova was born on June 4th, 1941 in Kyustendil. She holds a degree in Russian philology from St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia, and she has worked as a teacher, journalist, and dramaturg, and has served as Editor-in-Chief of the literary almanac Struma. Ekaterina is the author of 12 books of poetry, most recently This Snake, published in 2012, for which she received the national Ivan Nikolov Award in Bulgaria. Additionally, books of her poetry have been published in translation in Macedonia, Hungary and Slovenia. She has received numerous national and international literary awards, and her poetry has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She lives and works in Sofia.

“i see the child” by Daniela Mihaleva

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I see the child
arranges the crumbs on the table
look flower look sun

places the crumbs in her hand
her hand in my hand

-Daniela Mihaleva,
translated from the Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger:
Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry
(Accents Publishing)

Daniela Mihaleva was born on October 29th, 1971 in Varna. She holds a degree in education. She likes to draw and write poetry and short fiction. Her work has received several literary awards, and her debut poetry collection, A Positive, won the Ars Press first book contest in 2009. Daniela lives and writes in Pleven.

“the only thing she owns is a dress…” by Yordanka Beleva

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the only thing she owns is a dress
for all the days of the year

to distinguish holidays from work days
sometimes she puts on a brooch

during leap year she gets married
and the dresses become two

then every day of the year
she has doubts about the brooch