This year Bulgaria marks 90^th anniversary since the birth of Yordan Radichkov (24.10.1929). He was an unsurpassed master of the short story, exceptional playwright and script writer, two times nominated for Nobel Prize in literature. Radichkov is one of the emblematic authors in the new Bulgarian literature, characterized by his unique style.

On the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of the writer, Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture 2019, has organized a special project entitled “January – Month of Radichkov”. An exhibition, entitled ‘The Dim Yards’ (13 - 27 January 2019) presents Yordan Radichkov's trips to the wilderness of Siberia in the 60s of the last century. The writer spent several months there, returning loaded with impressions and experiences, which he turned into a travel book. Along with black and white footage a special edition of the writer's notes collected in the so-called "Siberian Notebooks" is presented.

"This is a kind of draft which served as the basis for writing his travel book "The Dim Yards’, but it can also be read as a completely separate book," the grandson of the writer who bears his name – Yordan Radichkov, says.

“His journey to Siberia was long and obviously left a mark in his life and his work as a writer afterwards. His notes are also an unique text of great depth and that we have decided that it can exist as a separate book. The text not only has artistic value, but it is also valuable because it is the only one from the author's work process that has been preserved. This has become the reason to present the exhibition, which illustrates some of the faces and places described by Yordan Radichkov in the ‘Dim Yards’. It includes exceptional shots made by an unknown photographer in 1963. Some of the photos look like specially-made photographic compositions, but they are actually based on pure chance and this is one of the interesting things that can be seen in the exhibition. The exhibition was also presented in Sofia a month ago, but then we did not have time to develop all the shots. We now show in Plovdiv a fuller picture of Radichkov’s trip to Siberia. We have received many letters from people, who want the exhibition to visit their city, so I hope it will continue its journey in 2019.”

The opening of the exhibition was accompanied by a screening of a documentary about Yordan Radichkov – ‘Circassian Chronicles’. The film was shot back in 1999 and is one of the few recorded talks with the writer, who shares his views on cinema, theater, literature, traditions and life in Bulgaria. There is a story told in the "Dim Yards ", which is very recognizable in some of the photos put on display, young Yordan Radichkov says and adds:

“This is a photo of my grandfather with a little girl, an orphan, described the book. She was adopted by the reindeer breeders living in the Siberian wilderness. These are people living in the middle of the ice fields with thousands of deer they take care of. They adopted the little girl and taught her how to take care of the deer. This is a very interesting story told in the book and the precious thing is that we have this photograph.

Otherwise, the story of Radichkov's journey to Siberia is very simple and typical of his style. Back in 1962-63, a message was received in the Bulgarian Union of Writers reading that there was a need for a writer to go to Siberia and write a narrative about life there. It was a common practice for a creative business trip, but writers did not want to go to such a frosty and distant place. Yordan Radichkov, however expressed desire to go and describe his stay in Siberia. The trip turned into a three-month journey that followed not only the marked paths and organized hikes, but even a included Radichkov and his companion Georgi Gachev getting lost in the taiga. This led to exciting encounters with the ordinary people of Siberia. The writer retained great impressions from his conversations with these people.”

"The Dim Yards" can be seen in Plovdiv until January 27.

English: Alexander Markov