Svetoslav Konstantinov Minkov () (12 February 1902 – 22 November 1966) was a Bulgarian

absurdist fiction Absurdist fiction is a genre of novels, Play (theatre), plays, poems, films, or other media that focuses on the experiences of characters in situations where they cannot find any inherent Meaning of life, purpose in life, most often represented b ...

writer.

Biography

Minkov was born in Radomir in 1902 in a military family. His older brother Asen died in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

, while his other brother Ivan, a member of the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party ( Bulgarian: Българска комунистическа партия (БΚП), Romanised: ''Bŭlgarska komunisticheska partiya''; BKP) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria f ...

, committed suicide in 1925 to evade arrest by the oppressive Tsarist authorities. Minkov received his primary education in Radomir, and graduated from a high school in Sofia. His sister Teodora introduced him to the Bulgarian literary circles of the 1920s. He published his first work - ''Newton's binomial'' in the "Bulgaran" magazine in 1920. He was later enrolled in a military college in Austria, where he studied the works of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

and the Russian classical authors. Minkov was known for his eccentric character and suffered from bizarre,

paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...

phobias, pervasive obsessive thoughts and

nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, disgust or sadness. The dream may contain situations o ...

s. He studied 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 ...

for a brief period of time before departing for

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1922. There he spent some of his best years, paying more attention to contacts with the local

bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a f ...

than to studies. He came back to his native country in 1923, and started working as a librarian for the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library. Before 1942, Minkov visited a number of countries in Europe, Asia and South America. Between 1942 and 1943 he worked in the Bulgarian embassy in Tokyo. After 1944, he began working in a number of Communist-oriented newspapers. From 1954 to 1962 he was a chief editor at the "Bulgarski pisatel" printing house. Minkov died in Sofia on November 22, 1966.

Style

Svetoslav Minkov is considered a pioneer of Bulgarian

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

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Novinar, 12 March 2005 He was a unique figure in Bulgarian literature – his talent and style were largely isolated from the local literary tendencies of the 1920s and 1930s, and he had no followers. His works primarily concern the loss of identity in the technocratic world, social uniformity under the influence of technology, the uncertainty of morality and values and the existential aspects of

boredom In conventional usage, boredom, , or tedium is an emotion characterized by Interest (emotion), uninterest in one's surrounding, often caused by a lack of distractions or occupations. Although, "There is no universally accepted definition of bo ...

. Minkov vividly expresses his ideas by means of

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

, diabolism,

sarcasm Sarcasm is the caustic use of words, often in a humorous way, to mock someone or something. Sarcasm may employ ambivalence, although it is not necessarily ironic. Most noticeable in spoken word, sarcasm is mainly distinguished by the inflectio ...

and

absurdism Absurdism is the philosophical theory that the universe is irrationality, irrational and meaningless. It states that trying to find meaning leads people into conflict with a seemingly meaningless world. This conflict can be between Rationality ...

. He also wrote numerous tales for children, studies on

Japanese culture Japanese culture has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral ...

, and translated the tales of

Scheherazade Scheherazade () is a major character and the storyteller in the frame story, frame narrative of the Middle Eastern collection of tales known as the ''One Thousand and One Nights''. Name According to modern scholarship, the name ''Scheherazade ...

into Bulgarian.

Selected works

* ''The Blue Chrysanthemum'', 1922 * ''Clock'', 1924 * ''Firebird'', 1927 * ''Shadow play'', 1928 * ''The House at the Last Lantern'', 1931 * ''Automatons'', 1932 * ''Heart in a Cardboard Box'', 1933 * '' The Lady With the X-Ray Eyes'', 1934 * ''Madrid is On Fire'', 1936 * ''Tales in a Hedgehog Skin'', 1936 * ''Guest'', 1938 * ''The Iron House'', 1941 * ''Youth of the Ape'', 1942 * ''Empire of Starvation'', 1950 * ''Panopticum'', 1966

References

Complete bibliographical reference
(in Bulgarian)

Biography

Style

Selected works

References

See also