THE POETIC NOSTALGIAS OF VESNA PARUN IN THE POETRY COLLECTION THE WIND OF THRACE
Études balkaniques (Sofia) 2024, N 3, DOI: https://doi.org/10.62761/645.EB.LX3.10
Liudmila MINDOVA
Institute of Balkans Studies & Centre of Thracology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Abstract: During her stay in Bulgaria in the 1960s, Vesna Parun formed strong friendships with leading figures on the Bulgarian literary scene, and Bulgaria became a kind of second homeland for her. Here she wrote her poetry collection The Wind of Thrace, which not only testified to her enchantment with Bulgarian nature, culture, and history but also served as an important document for the development of her poetic views. Through the Thracian myth and Bogomilism, through the images of Sozopol, Nessebar, and the Hermit of Rila, as well as through the irony and anti-dogmatism in the Sofia poetic and philosophical circles, Vesna Parun began to infuse the image of Bulgaria in her poetry with strong nostalgic sentiments. In this way she traced mental bridges between her native home and language and her new Bulgarian homeland, which could not be completely destroyed even after the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968 and her expulsion from Bulgaria. Vesna Parun is a known and valued poet in Bulgaria, and her work has not lost its impactful influence.
Keywords: lyric poetry, metaphysics, totalitarianism, satire, irony