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.