The poet and the system. Escapes and Refuges in Late Socialism Cover Image
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Поетът и системата. Бягства и убежища в късния социализъм
The poet and the system. Escapes and Refuges in Late Socialism

Notes on three poets - Hristo Fotev, Ivan Teofilov and Boris Hristov

Author(s): Georgi Gospodinov
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Studies of Literature
Published by: Институт за литература - БАН
Keywords: Ivan Teofilov; Hristo Fotev; Boris Hristov; im/possible escapes; refuges; self-marginalization; “world denied”

Summary/Abstract: The text explores the strategies of self-preservation in a totalitarian system, such as Bulgarian socialism, through the poetry of three charismatic, non-conformist poets: Ivan Teofilov (b. 1931), Hristo Fotev (1934-2002) and Boris Hristov (b. 1945). The motif of the im/possible escapes and refuges is revealed in their writing. Several thematic and biographical lines are traced: their choice to be "unbelonging," their self-marginalization as an ethical gesture, the theme of the unattainable "world denied," other arts and friendship circles as a shelter, and, above all, the shelter of language and the joy of it, the ability of these poets to unchain and expand the language.

  • Issue Year: 66/2023
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 70-78
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: Bulgarian
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