Atanas Hristov Dalchev (also written ''Dalčev''; ) (June 12, 1904 - January 17, 1978) was a Bulgarian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

and translator. He was among the leading Bulgarian poets of the 1920s and 1930s. Dalchev was also a prominent translator of poetry and fiction from French, Spanish, English, German and Russian authors. He was a recipient of the Herder Prize in 1972 (for his ''overall literary work'') and the Znak Pocheta Order (or Order of the Badge of Honor) in 1967 (for popularisation of Russian culture in Bulgaria). Dalchev was born in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. His father Hristo Dalchev was a lawyer, who as an MP from the People's Federative Party (Bulgarian Section) represеnted Macedonian Bulgarians in the Ottoman parliament. The family relocated to Sofia in 1913 after the

Balkan wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

. In 1922 Atanas graduated from Sofia's First Men's High School. In 1926, Dalchev published his first poetry collection called ''Prozorets'' (''Window''). After graduating in

Pedagogics Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from

Sofia University Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" () is a public university, public research university in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is the oldest institution of higher education in Bulgaria. Founded on 1 October 1888, the edifice of the university was constr ...

(1927), his next three collections were released in 1928, 1930 and 1943. In 1945 Dalchev was among the first writers to be attacked by the communist establishment in Bulgaria due to his allegedly bourgeois style and artistic concepts.Rikev, Kamen. ''"Because It Is Hidden..." The Christian Worldview in the Works of Atanas Dalchev.'' n Bulgarian: ''"Защото е на скрито..." Християнският светоглед в творчеството на Атанас Далчев.''Lublin: UMCS Press, 2020: 317. This led to a period of poetic silence, which was broken only after 1956. In the last decades of his life Dalchev created about 25 poems. Instead of successive volumes, his poetry was published in collections where the new works complemented his four pre-war poetic books. Having entered the Bulgarian literary scene in the 1920s as a member of the ''Strelets'' (''Saggitarius'') literary circle Dalchev was an advocate of commensurating national culture with the values and artistic practices of modern Europe. His poetry and critical articles established himself as a leading opponent to symbolist aesthetics. His works are characterized by a strong emphasis on sensibility and the concreteness of experiences and artistic imagery. At the same time they pose the question of the limitations of the material world, which lead to the popular qualification of Dalchev as a ''metaphysician in the concrete'' (''метафизик в конкретното''). In 1967 Dalchev published a small book entitled ''Fragmenti'' (''Fragments'') containing aphorisms, thoughts and impressions that originally appeared in various periodicals. ''Fragments'' established the author as a prominent aphorist. Known for his nonconformism and despite his modest original production, Dalchev ranks among the greatest authorities in Bulgarian culture of the 20th century, one of the ''most read'' and ''most readable'' Bulgarian poets, as well as ''the leading non-institutionalized'' Bulgarian classic author.Kurtasheva, Bilyana. “Dalchev: Approaches.” Foreword. In Nedelchev, M. & B. Kurtasheva & Y. Eftimov, eds. ''Reading Dalchev''. [In Bulgarian: Курташева, Биляна. "Далчев: приближавания." Предговор. В: Неделчев, М. & Б. Курташева & Й. Ефтимов, съст. ''Да четем Далчев.''] Sofia: NBU, [2006]: 5-6. He died in Sofia in 1978. In 1984 the ''Balgarski Pisatel'' publishing house released Dalchev's collected ''Works in Two Volumes'', containing his poetry, critics, aphorisms and translations. Poems and selected aphorisms by Atanas Dalchev have been translated into French, Russian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, German, Italian, French, Spanish, English, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, Arabian, Swedish and other languages in periodicals and literary anthologies.

Short bibliography

* ''Prozorets'' (''Window''), 1926 * ''Stihotvoreniya'' (''Poems''), 1928 * ''Parizh'' (''Paris''), 1930 * ''Angelat na Shartar'' (''The Angel of Chartres''), 1943 * ''Stihotvoreniya'' (''Poems''), 1965; 1969 * ''Fragmenti'' '': Belezhki za poeziyata, literaturata i kritikata'' (''Fragments: Notes on Poetry, Literature and Critics''), 1967 *''Балкон'' (''Balcony''), 1972 *''Doors'' selected poems translated by Christopher Buxton, 2018

References

External links

* Several poems translated by Christopher Buxton a
christopherbuxton.com
(last access: 21.01.2021) *Works by Atanas Dalchev in Bulgarian a
chitanka.info
(last access: 21.01.2021)
Atanas Dalchev reads his poems in Bulgarian
(from the Golden Funds of the Bulgarian National Radio: 14.06.2014). Published: 15.06.2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalchev, Atanas 1904 births 1978 deaths Writers from Thessaloniki People from Salonica vilayet Bulgarians from Aegean Macedonia Bulgarian male poets Bulgarian translators Sofia University alumni Ottoman Thessalonica 20th-century translators 20th-century Bulgarian poets Herder Prize recipients 20th-century Bulgarian male writers Refugees in Bulgaria Greek emigrants Immigrants to Bulgaria