A Jubilee evening dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the writer Atanas Slavov was organized by the “Sava Dobroplodni” regional library
A jubilee meeting dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of "American from Sliven” – the writer Atanas Slavov was held on 14 June in 17. 00 pm in the chamber hall of "Stefan Kirov" drama theatre. The event was organized by “Sava Dobroplodni” regional library with the support of Sliven Municipality. Despite the hot weather the meeting was attended by many friends and admirers of the writer. At the beginning Atanas Slavov presented in brief in his inimitable style the highlights of his life. Unpublished photos from the private archives of the writer were presented as an illustration to the text on screen.
The conferencier of the meeting, the writer Christo Karastoyanov, outlined in vivid strokes the creative achievements of Atanas Slavov. Slavov’s books of the last 10 years discussed in his report the literary critic Dimitar Bechev. About the author's debut book "The Wrath of Cats", written in 1952 with the co-author Marco Stoychev and gone out of print last year read a speech the writer and journalist Yambol Lubomir Kotev.
Like in any jubilee celebration there were congratulatory letters, original gifts, flowers. On behalf of the Mayor of Sliven Atanas Slavov was awarded the honorary sign of the city.
Atanas Slavov - biographical notes
Atanas Slavov was born in Sliven on 25 July 1930. He studied at the American elementary school in Sofia until its closure in 1941. He graduated from high school in Sofia and in 1953 - English Philology at Sofia University.
From 1953 to 1965 he taught Russian, worked as a librarian in the National Library, participated in programs of Radio Sofia for abroad, was involved in mapping Rodopi mountains; in 1961-71 held a seminar in English literature at Sofia University.
In 1965 he defended a candidate's thesis at the Institute of Literature at BAS. In 1966-76 he was a research associate in the Institute of Art at the Academy of Sciences, where he founded the Department of Design and participated in a problematic group for the study of Bulgarian fine arts. Since 1974 he was a senior associate in folklore and theory of art and folklore. He participated in a research group at the Polish Academy of Science in Comparative Slavic Metrics. As an executive secretary of the scientific project "Guidelines to the world culture until 2000" at the Academy of Sciences he moved to the U.S.A., where in 1975-1976 he worked in the Department of international researches and exchanges in New York. In 1976 he settled in the USA.
As a literary critic, a art critic, a poet, a writer, a translator, long before he emigrated to America, he participated in the creation of the new Bulgarian culture. He had an undoubted contribution as a researcher of the Bulgarian folklore and ethnographic values, of Bulgarian folk art and crafts, of Bulgarian villages and personalities of Bulgarian history. He was also one of the first Bulgarian fiction writers. He took part actively in cinema dramaturgy, art studies, political science, philosophy, cultural theory and semiotics.
Atanas Slavov was an extremely prolific writer. Until his departure from Bulgaria, he has written poetry, sci-fi / "X Factor", "The bigger spiral" /; art researches / Sliven. City of cloth and gunpowder”; “Zheravna”; "Bronze vessels"; "Wood-carvings of Rozhen Monastery”; “Dobri Zhelyazkov- the Factory-owner”/; he had books about Theodosii of Turnovo, about Patriarch Evtimiy and Gregorii Tsamblak; he wrote children's books, screenplays for animated films, for documentary and feature films; he translated from English the works of Charles Dickens, Graham Greene, Seán O'Casey, William Saroyan, Coleridge etc. He actively wrote for magazines and newspapers like "Literary Thought", “Flame ", "September", "Art" etc.
After leaving the country he was sentenced for his defection. He worked abroad first as a freelance writer in Radio “Free Europe” and BBC London /1978/, in Center “Woodrow Wilson” in a department which studied the problems of Eastern European cultures /1979/, in the State Department, Washington, as an instructor in Bulgarian /1980-83/, in the Center for Language Researches, Maryland /1983/ and in "Voice of America” as a radio scriptwriter, an editor and a narrator.
In the U.S. he began writing his memoirs, which first sounded in Bulgarian language, read by himself in 52 weekly transmissions of Radio Free Europe, entitled "Paths on highways” /1978-79/. He founded in the U.S. a publishing house, which with he attracted many writing Bulgarian immigrants, contacted eminent American writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Graham Greene etc. A part of its production was in English. In 1986 he issued his memoirs in English entitled "With the Precision of Baths". The book was awarded by Legerete International Writers Union Book as the best autobiography of 1986.; he published his verses / "Mr. Lampedusa Has Vanished"; "The Dough of America is Rising in Me"/; under pseudonymous Al Santana he published "Hadling Vegetables"- a grotesque-satirical prose. He devoted much of his time studying the life and teachings of Peter Deunov. He toured and documented the places where Deunov stayed during his studying in America. He has a solid collection of materials on the life of the Master, theory and practice of deunovism / Great White Brotherhood, Esoteric Christianity / in his archives. In the U.S. Slavov was a member of American PEN Club in the section of writers in exile.
After 1989 Atanas Slavov returned to Bulgaria and settled in his hometown Sliven. The criminal case against him was terminated in 1991. In Sliven he published many of his books written abroad. After his return from emigration in 1991 he was discovered for Bulgarian literature and culture and in the last 20 years he issued several new books - fiction, poetry, research papers, essays etc.
He was awarded the Order of the Stara Planina, First Class. He is an honorary citizen of Sliven.