Yana Yazova (Bulgarian: Яна Язова) was the pen name of Lyuba Todorova Gancheva (Bulgarian: Люба Тодорова Ганчева) (1912 – August 1974), a Bulgarian intellectual and writer. Her name is also transcribed as Liuba Gantcheva.[1]. She was born during the Balkan Wars.
Yana Yazova | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Lyuba Todorova Gancheva 1912 Lom, Bulgaria |
| Died | August 1974 (aged 61–62) Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Pen name | Liuba Gantcheva |
| Genre | Novel, poetry, travel writing |
Life
editShe was born in Lom[2] and received a Master's degree in Slavic philology from Sofia University in 1935.[1] Gancheva also studied French philology at the Sorbonne. In 1940 she published a historical drama The Last of the Pagans and a novel The Captain. From 1942 to 1943, she co-edited the children's magazine Blok with Nikola Balabanov, brother of Prof. Alexander Balabanov, her mentor and lover. Gancheva married another man in 1943. Later in life, she was pressured to write poetry promoting communism but she instead chose to become a recluse.[1]. She indeed refused to join the socialist realism movement. Then, she was marginalized of the litterary sphere, and no longer printed and published.
Her poetry was translated into Esperanto, Czech, Serbian and Ukrainian. She travelled extensively in Europe and the Near East and wrote about her travels.[2]
Her historical novel Alexander of Macedon, the trilogy Balkans and the anti-communist novel Salt Gulf were published after her death.[1]. The bulgarian communist party censorized her works because Yana Yazova wanted to develop a sense of pride and patriotism among the Bulgarians, by raising an historical conscience through the "Balkans[1]" trilogy, by depicting and deciphering the complex identities of Balkan populations. This trilogy was a colossal work for her ; she spent several years in libraries, archives and even monasteries to collect all the datas she needed in order to build this historical roman.
She was found murdered in her home in Sofia in 1974.[1]. According to the writer and litterary historian Peter Velichkov, Yana Yazova has been murdered by agents of the Security of State secret service (in bulgarian "Държавна сигурност -ДС"). However, this hypothesis has never been proven. Actually, she died in mysterious circumstances : her body was discovered in an advanced stage of decomposition, besides her state file and some of her works had disappeared.
Yana Yazova has been erased from the litterary stage throughout the period of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Nevertheless, she has regained interest over the last thirty years : Although not included in the official school curriculum, she is now considered to be one of the major Bulgarian literary figures of the 20th century.
See also
edit- Yazove, poetry (1931)
- Revolt, poetry (1934)
- Crosses, poetry (1935)
- Ana Dyulgerova, novel (1936)
- The Captain, novel (1940)
- Balkans, novel (1987–1989)
- Alexander of Macedon, novel (2002)
- Salt Gulf, novel (2003)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Chance, Jane (2005). Women Medievalists and the Academy. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 502–503. ISBN 0299207501.
- ^ a b c "Notable Lom People". Municipality of Lom. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.
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