The interview by Stefan Dzhambazov with Georgi Grozdev was aired on RFI (Radio France Internacionale) on Feb 5, 2007 at 5.30pm. The conversation which lasted about 20 minutes presented the album dedicated to the poet and translator Stefan Gechev, the book of poetry “City” by Lyubcho Georgievski, the Literary Balkans magazine with its focus on contemporary Turkish literature and culture, as well as the two-volume edition of lyrics and dramas by Ivan Peychev. The upcoming French edition of the novel “Prey” by Georgi Grozdev and his new documentary book “Discovering the Balkans” were also the focus of attention.

Here are some short excerpts from Georgi Grozdev’s comments:

About Stefan Gechev’s work as a spiritual bridge on the Balkans:

Gechev has been passed over in silence, forgotten and shoved into a corner. What the market demands now is not necessarily of worth and value. We live in times of spiritual and cultural degradation and even though we beat our chest for being in the European Union, Stefan Gechev has been in Europe long before us. He’s an example we can only follow if we have the strength for it. The respect of his Greek friends for his name and work, one of the greatest names in Greek culture and literature, is unprecedented in the cultural field of the Balkans.


About the book of poetry “City” by Lyubcho Georgievski:

The premiere of the book brought together Bulgarian politicians, culture figures, diplomats of different colors who for different reasons pass by and miss each other in space. And they still do. One book brought some of them together for a little while – this also made me happy, apart from the attention of Bulgarian and foreign media, as well as the curiosity of readers waiting in line for an autograph.


About Orhan Pamuk’s Nobel Prize Speech:

There are such authors and critics in Bulgaria who think Orhan Pamuk is no great writer but was awarded the Nobel Prize almost as a sign of mercy due to political reasons. I’d like to ask how many names from our literature and culture did what he did – he turned down some of the greatest state awards and received them later abroad. Despite the conditionality of the comparison, Stefan Gechev, Lyubcho Georgievski and Orhan Pamuk are part of the common Balkan spiritual elite who does not belong only to separate cultures. All of them have a specific creative and civic position which is not welcomed with applause in their surroundings. This shows that there are bright spiritual minorities on the Balkans who are not slaves to the state of affairs or servants to the status quo.