In January 2014 only few recalled that ten years had passed since the demise of sage-writer Yordan Radichkov. As he finished his mission on Earth his soul ascended to Heaven even though he would sometimes admit that Heaven was likely to be a boring place. Now many have recalled that had he lived longer Yordan Radichkov would turn 85 on October 24. His most loyal readers cannot believe he is no longer living and welcome the day on which he was born. He has generations of fans in Bulgaria, while his books have been translated in various languages including rare ones, and have been flying over foreign lands like sparrow flocks. This flight is endless starting from his native village of Kalimanitsa, Northwestern Bulgaria, to reach Paris, and then head to Prague and on to Siberia, Beijing and Stockholm to make a stopover back in Sofia. Critics have been insistently trying to interpret his parables, and untangle the codes of his unfathomable imagination. They often mention fantasy and magic but Radichkov was not only a splendid narrator but also a wonderful companion. In his interviews he was downright magnetic.
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Why has solitude invaded us?
Well, it lives inside us; it hasn't invaded us and hasn't fallen from the sky. We have it in us and it sometimes swells inside and spills over this way.
Is there a way to remedy solitude or is it somewhere in the air among the sworn brothers and sisters that we have turned our backs to?
Yes, there is a remedy for solitude, of course. Simply, man should be careful not to be alone. He has to turn to his fellows. After all, people are all brethren, aren't they?
They are brethren in the face of the One, in the face of Light. But it seems that in the breadwinning struggle Bulgarians are loners.
It's bad when a man is fighting for something on his own, believe me. If you are fighting to get a cow, what are you going to do? Eat the cow? No, you cannot do that.
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Yordan Radichkov was a virtuoso in the simplicity of his examples. Simplicity was deliberate. The writer was anxious to be understood by as many Bulgarians as possible, and he wanted his words to reach as many light-blind people. He believed that a failure to comprehend Nature predetermined the failure to comprehend Art.
„Art”, the great Bulgarian writer argued, “has always been a contention and rivalry with nature. It is nature that nurtures human imagination. Human imagination cannot stay impassive at the face of natural scenery and it always seeks to add something personal to it; to further inhabit and enrich God's earth.”
On the issue of God, Radichkov once admitted: „I personally prefer the young years when man is still pagan. I can see how writers write when they grow old. They write like good, pious Christians with clear knowledge about good and bad, right and wrong. In contrast, green years are fascinatingly barbarian. They are all about the fall from grace. Forgiveness is the invention of old guys. Later in time, as men grow old and can no longer go about sinning, they ask for mercy and forgiveness.“
Yordan Radichkov has a collection of short stories entitled Pupavo Times. The dialect word 'pupavo' means something immature, unfinished. Times can also get increasingly "pupavo" and prove unable to generate any ideas thus remaining infantile…
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Do words have the power to heal? We know they can do a lot of harm …
I can remember the words of an African poet: „with stones and wood they can kill me, but with words I cannot even hurt them “. In my time this used to stun me.
How should we help our souls? What is the remedy so that they hurt less?
In the first place, we have to identify the cause of pain. I have said that many times: we belong to a nation more corporal than spiritual. And this can give us the clue to a few essential truths about our lives.
Where should we look for the spirit, the Bulgarian spirit?
It is often mentioned but I gather that whoever mentions it is hardly aware of what they mean.
***
The spirit of Yordan Radichkov, the most enchanting Bulgarian writer who has embarked on the road to Light, will be with us as long as we remember him.
English Daniela Konstantinova
The Radichkov quotes are from his book Roaming Words released by Argus Publishers, a volume with interviews and quotes of the writer that have been carried in various media. Parts of an interview taken by Yulia Bankova have been used as well. |
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