People know that the Rorschach inkblot test can be a key to their emotions while others know that “Petnoto na Rorschach” (Rorschach’s Inkblot) is a cult venue in Plovdiv – a place where one can have a beer, enjoying the work of independent artists.

Club culture has a special place in the artistic life of this country. For 15 years “Petnoto na Rorschach” has been a stage for presenting serious literature, interesting music, and an attractive venue for people interested in art. The club’s creator - writer Alexander Sekoulov, says that the club is independent and does not follow the mass taste. "We have been trying to move ahead of the audience, hoping it trusts us and follows us."

Every Tuesday "Petnoto na Rorschach" opens doors for meetings with important Bulgarian writers.

“The ‘SPIRT & SPIRIT’ literary salon has been existing for 7 years now and its major goal is presenting Bulgarian literature in its integrity, getting the audience acquainted with authors of various age, style, and temperament; revealing new trends before others. When it comes to quality, over time we have built a trust in good Bulgarian writers and publishers and they know they would find professional and ethical attitude here.”

However, there are authors who are taboo for the club. The literary salon would not provide a stage for so-called “manufacturers of paper products” –people who easily manage to sell their books just because of their media popularity.

A number of good poets and writers have been guests to the Rorschach Inkblot club. Among them are Zdravka Evtimova, Teodora Dimova, Vladimir Zarev, Radoslav Parushev, Nikolay Milchev, Toma Markov.  There is a forthcoming meeting with Aksinia Mihaylova, laureate of prestigious Apollinaire award for poetry.

“Milen Ruskov, winner of prestigious literary awards, has not only been a guest to the ‘Rorschach Inkblot’ but he led one of our meetings. It is in our club where he agreed his novel Vazvishenie (Summit) to be turned into a theatrical play. After a successful year on the stage of the Plovdiv theatre, new performances of the play would start in September.”

Alexander Sekoulov is a prolific writer himself and at the end of the past year his novel “Skitnikat i sinovete” was published. The novel focuses on the difficult road to light in relationships between fathers and sons. The writer also says he is tired of constant focusing on dramatism in life and its meaninglessness.

Speaking about the variety of new Bulgarian literature on the market, Alexander Sekulov told us:

“Bulgarian writers and their works have been becoming more attractive to local readers. There is willingness for experimentation but it is interesting to see how long this variety would continue to exist. I think at some point the variety will not be so great and relationships between publisher and authors will become more professional, like in the rest of the world.”

The writer does not know if he has managed to cultivate aesthetic taste for good literature through his literary salon but points out he does not need that in order to keep presenting high-quality writers and literature. He adds with a smile that nowadays one should not expect much recognition for their work, so it was better to have an altitude of irony and perseverance.

English: Alexander Markov