Dimcho Debelyanov () (28 March 1887 – 2 October 1916) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n poet and author. Born to a prosperous tailoring family in Koprivshtitsa,

, Debelyanov experienced financial hardship upon the death of his father in 1896, which necessitated his family moving to

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

, and then on to

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

in 1904. Debelyanov's nostalgia for Koprivshtitsa influenced his work, often speaking of his eight years in Plovdiv with regret and calling it "the sorrowful city". Debelyanov studied Law, history and literature at the Faculties of Law and History and Philosophy at

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 ...

and translated works in both French and English. In 1906, Debelyanov began sending poetry to Bulgarian literary magazines at the urging of friend and fellow poet Pencho Slaveikov, which were accepted and well received. His poems at this time were satirical, with symbolist qualities and subjects, such as dreams, idealism and the stylising of medieval legends. Debelyanov worked several odd jobs during the next six years, finding employment as a junior clerk for the central meteorological station, a translator and a freelance journalist, before being mobilised in 1912 into the Balkan army during

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 ...

, where he was discharged in 1914. Though he considered himself a pacifist, Debelyanov would later volunteer to join the army in 1916. Debelyanov's poetry evolved during combat, moving from idealist Symbolism to a simplified and more object focused Realism. He was killed near Gorno Karadjovo (today Monokklisia, Greece) during a battle with an Irish division in 1916, aged 29. His body was interred in Valovishta, today Sidirokastro,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

until 1931, when his remains were removed to his native town, Koprivshtitsa. Debelyanov's gravestone was designed by the sculptor Ivan Lazarov. His body of work was collected by friends, then published posthumously in a two volume anthology in 1920, entitled Stihotvoreniya (Poems) with a collection of letters and personal writings. Despite his short career, Debelyanov's published poems remain popular in post-war Bulgaria. Tombstone-Debelyanov

Honours

Debelyanov Point on

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Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after Dimcho Debelyanov. His childhood home has become a museum dedicated to the poet.

References

External links

Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Author's profile

Virtual Library, Author's Profile

Honours

References

External links

See also