Varban Stamatov
Encyclopedia
Varban Stamatov (27 May 1924 – 23 November 1998) was a Bulgarian writer
, marine novelist, publicist and editor
. The magnetism of the world's oceans and faraway lands were prominent features in his art.
He travelled extensively to as far as the Arctic circle, including the USA, China, Japan, Indonesia, Somalia, Egypt, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the former USSR, Armenia, England, France, gathering material for his publications.
. He spent his childhood and youth in poverty in Varna
and the surrounding villages. His mother, widowed young, was a teacher, who encouraged her children to read those “eternal books”, essential as bread itself, literary works by authors such as Ivan Vazov
, Dostoyevski, Jack London
, Cervantes
, Rabelais and Homer
. As a student Varban spent hours in the local library studying ancient Greek, Latin, Russian and German which enabled him to support his family by helping other fellow students with their lessons. When he graduated from High School he was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Education. He was an excellent swimmer and won a local Varna championship for two consecutive years. He was in the final stages of World War II
on the Fatherland Front
as a war correspondent.
After the war Varban Stamatov studied medicine and philosophy at Sofia University
. He worked as a journalist, later as editor, writing for newspapers such as "Izgrev", “Literary Front”, “Evening News”, “National Culture”, magazine “The Flame”, publishers “Georgi Bakalov” (Varna) and “Bulgarian Writer” (Sofia). Subsequently he wrote numerous novels on marine themes.
When he was not at sea, he mostly lived and worked in Sofia
, within a circle of Bulgarian intellectuals, dramatists, film directors, theatre producers, artists, composers, conductors, poets, literary editors, critics and authors. His colleagues and friends included Bancho Banov, Georges Tutev, Mladen Isaev, Emil Manov, Valeri Petrov, Nikolai Popov, Ducho Mundrov, Leda Mileva, (daughter of poet Geo Milev
), Dora Gabe
, Pavel Vezhinov
and Boris Aprilov
. In Az-buki (1993) Georgi Tsankov comments on "In the Fog" as being "a literary work with huge factual and philosophical value". In "Plamuk" (1984) Bancho Banov says "Varban Stamatov isn't one of the praised writers... (ibid.) more importantly, he's one of the read writers". He was awarded a temporary home in Sopot, his author’s mountain retreat at the foot of the majestic Balkan Mountains
- Stara Planina. He shared this home with his third wife, a most talented Bulgarian writer of Armenian origin, Fransi Kevork Bahchedzhian, pseudonym Sevda Sevan
. Varban and Fransi spent 20 years together in Sofia and Ahtopol
, near the Turkish border where they both wrote their best novels. He was a member of the Bulgarian Union of Writers . In his life he dreamt of escaping from the stifling city to venture out to the oceans, the eternal sway of waves, the vast expanse, the connection man makes with the eternal in himself. In his last novel he wrote: ″Each of us who has been on this earth is a tiny enigma frequently unspoken for various reasons and is just a one-way passenger who comes and goes seldom leaving some tangible trail. All of us in the final reckoning, no matter how vain, are merely dust for the wind, to be blown about whilst yet alive along with all our absurd passions, misapprehensions, intolerances, manias for achieving justice, fears, tom-foolery....″ He died in Sofia
, Bulgaria in 1998.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, marine novelist, publicist and editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
. The magnetism of the world's oceans and faraway lands were prominent features in his art.
He travelled extensively to as far as the Arctic circle, including the USA, China, Japan, Indonesia, Somalia, Egypt, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the former USSR, Armenia, England, France, gathering material for his publications.
Personal background
Varban Stamatov was born 27 May 1924 in Veliko Turnovo, BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. He spent his childhood and youth in poverty in Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
and the surrounding villages. His mother, widowed young, was a teacher, who encouraged her children to read those “eternal books”, essential as bread itself, literary works by authors such as Ivan Vazov
Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria ....
, Dostoyevski, Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
, Cervantes
Cervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
, Rabelais and Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
. As a student Varban spent hours in the local library studying ancient Greek, Latin, Russian and German which enabled him to support his family by helping other fellow students with their lessons. When he graduated from High School he was awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Education. He was an excellent swimmer and won a local Varna championship for two consecutive years. He was in the final stages of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
on the Fatherland Front
Fatherland Front
There have been at least two organisations known as the Fatherland Front:*Vietnamese Fatherland Front*Fatherland's Front *Fatherland Front...
as a war correspondent.
After the war Varban Stamatov studied medicine and philosophy at Sofia University
Sofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...
. He worked as a journalist, later as editor, writing for newspapers such as "Izgrev", “Literary Front”, “Evening News”, “National Culture”, magazine “The Flame”, publishers “Georgi Bakalov” (Varna) and “Bulgarian Writer” (Sofia). Subsequently he wrote numerous novels on marine themes.
When he was not at sea, he mostly lived and worked in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, within a circle of Bulgarian intellectuals, dramatists, film directors, theatre producers, artists, composers, conductors, poets, literary editors, critics and authors. His colleagues and friends included Bancho Banov, Georges Tutev, Mladen Isaev, Emil Manov, Valeri Petrov, Nikolai Popov, Ducho Mundrov, Leda Mileva, (daughter of poet Geo Milev
Geo Milev
Geo Milev , born Georgi Milev Kasabov , was a Bulgarian poet.-Life:Geo Milev studied in Sofia and later in Leipzig where he was introduced to German Expressionism. His university thesis was on Richard Dehmel. Beginning in 1916 he fought in the World War I, where he was severely injured...
), Dora Gabe
Dora Gabe
Dora Gabe was а Bulgarian poetess. She published poetry for adults and children as well as travel books, short stories and essays.Gabe was born in the village of Dabovik near Dobrich to the family of Peter Gabe, a Russian immigrant. She studied natural science at the University of Sofia, French...
, Pavel Vezhinov
Pavel Vezhinov
Pavel Vezhinov , born Nikola Delchev Gugov , was a Bulgarian science fiction writer.He was one of the very first Bulgarian science fiction authors, writing many books, articles and movie scripts. Vezhinov is perhaps best known for his 1977 novel Barierata , written after the death of his first wife...
and Boris Aprilov
Boris Aprilov
Boris Aprilov was a Bulgarian writer, playwright, satirist and humourist, dramaturge, well known for his novels, plays and screenplays, and mostly for his children's literature....
. In Az-buki (1993) Georgi Tsankov comments on "In the Fog" as being "a literary work with huge factual and philosophical value". In "Plamuk" (1984) Bancho Banov says "Varban Stamatov isn't one of the praised writers... (ibid.) more importantly, he's one of the read writers". He was awarded a temporary home in Sopot, his author’s mountain retreat at the foot of the majestic Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
- Stara Planina. He shared this home with his third wife, a most talented Bulgarian writer of Armenian origin, Fransi Kevork Bahchedzhian, pseudonym Sevda Sevan
Sevda Sevan
Sevda Sevan was a prominent Armenian-Bulgarian writer, the Ambassador of Armenia in Bulgaria from 1994 to 2005. Sevda Sevan was the third wife of Bulgarian writer and editor Varban Stamatov...
. Varban and Fransi spent 20 years together in Sofia and Ahtopol
Ahtopol
Ahtopol is a town and seaside resort on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located on a headland in the southeastern part of Burgas Province and is close to the border with European Turkey...
, near the Turkish border where they both wrote their best novels. He was a member of the Bulgarian Union of Writers . In his life he dreamt of escaping from the stifling city to venture out to the oceans, the eternal sway of waves, the vast expanse, the connection man makes with the eternal in himself. In his last novel he wrote: ″Each of us who has been on this earth is a tiny enigma frequently unspoken for various reasons and is just a one-way passenger who comes and goes seldom leaving some tangible trail. All of us in the final reckoning, no matter how vain, are merely dust for the wind, to be blown about whilst yet alive along with all our absurd passions, misapprehensions, intolerances, manias for achieving justice, fears, tom-foolery....″ He died in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria in 1998.
Published works
- Soldier's Chronicles (1948)"
- Out of love short novel (1957)"
- The old boatswain narrates short stories for teenagers (1960)"
- The coast of the poor novel 1st ed.(1964), 2nd ed.“Profizdat” Sofia(1989)"
- Anya (1967)
- Islanders Sofia(1968)
- Letters from the sea Sofia(1969–1984)
- The seal cub novelette for children Sofia(1969)
- Flagman 1st ed.(1972), 2nd ed. Vol.II Sofia "Bulgarian Writer"(1984)
- The Great Bitter Lake 1st ed.(1979), 2nd ed. Vol.I "Bulgarian Writer", (1984)
- Cricket on the Pole 1st ed.(1982), 2nd ed. "Bulgarian Writer" Sofia (1984)
- On a boat to Ararat c/o Jusautor Sofia "Profizdat" (1985)
- Death in Lauderdale, Sofia, "Bulgarian Writer" (1989)
- In the fog–the Bulgarian and the sea Sofia "Letopisi", (1992)
- Hostage and fugitive bound nowhere, Publisher "Fatherland",(1997) ISBN 954-419-079-1
- Anthology-Bulgarian Marine Novelists, Varban Stamatov, Georgi Ingilizov, Emil Markov, Boris AprilovBoris AprilovBoris Aprilov was a Bulgarian writer, playwright, satirist and humourist, dramaturge, well known for his novels, plays and screenplays, and mostly for his children's literature....
, Atanas Stoichev, Jivko Angelov, Konstantin Ploshtakov, Kosta Radev, Nikola Radev, Peyu Bogdanov, Petar Kazalarski, Slavcho Chernishev, Tihomir Yordanov, Todor Velchev, Zvetan Minkov, Sofia University Publisher "St.Clement of Ochrid" (2002) ISBN 954-07-1706-X
Further reading
- ″Литературен Фронт″ 26.07.1984 Тодор Янчев ″Творчество, свързано с живота и морето″ Literary Front 26.07.1984, Todor Yanchev "Creativity connected with life and the sea" ″The sea and the ocean are symbols of the vast and the boundless, of the rigorous life, which the marine novelist deeply knows and loves. The essayistic manner of exposition in “Cricket on the Pole” brings cordiality to the images and represents a peculiar “moral biography of the author himself” ibid. “When we first met, the name Varban Stamatov was already on several book titles. In 1960 his selected short stories for children and teenagers (“The old boatswain narrates”) was published. As a man, who even then displayed a particular interest in children’s literature, I found a new stream in his stories, a new method towards the marine theme, as well as towards memories of the past. Children’s literature had a need for sincere and truthful words or, said succinctly, for realistic reading. Just such an impression of profound and earnest realism was left at my first reading a book by Varban Stamatov.″
- Stamatov V., Hostage and fugitive Fatherland 1997 p. 40 ″И колкото да ми бе необяснимо отде, все по-нещо пестеше, заемаше отнякъде, запушваше ‘дупки’ и после връщаше на части само и само да ни купи на изплащане от пътуващите книжари по някоя от ония “вечни книги” според нея, нужни не по-малко от хляба-съчиненията на Вазов, Достоевски, Джек Лондон, Сервантес, Рабле, Омир″. (in translation- ″And in as much as it was inexplicable to me how or where she got it, she was always frugally sparing something, borrowing, filling up ‘gaps’ and then returning in parts what she owed, just so she could afford to buy us (in installments) one of those “eternal books”, that according to her we needed as much as bread itself-the literary works of Ivan Vazov, Dostoyevski, Jack London, Cervantes, Rabelais, Homer.″
- ″Литературен Фронт″ 26.07.1984, Любомир Левчев, ″До Върбан Стаматов Тук″ София Literaturen Front, 26.07.1984, Lyubomir Levchev, "Address to Varban Stamatov" Sofia ″Grown up in Veliko Turnovo and Varna, you participated in the Fatherland FrontFatherland FrontThere have been at least two organisations known as the Fatherland Front:*Vietnamese Fatherland Front*Fatherland's Front *Fatherland Front...
in World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Your initial manifestations in prose writing, “Soldier’s Chronicles” and the novelette “Out of love” reflect the national struggle, paint the dismal images in the lives of dockers, of poor fishermen and sailors, tell an inspiring story of the birth of a new society. Your true vocation as a marine-novelist is shown in “The coast of the poor”. The marine theme through your creativity is transformed into a part of the lives of the people, of their existence and contemporary aspirations. With special love you describe the sea and the work of those Bulgarian men, absent from home for months. The mastery of this theme culminates in your novel “Flagman”. There follow “Letters from the sea” and “The great bitter lake”, testifying to the necessity for new forms of expressing complex problems, until we reach your new book, “Cricket on the Pole” – displaying creative maturity.” ibid. “Your creative activity is inseparable from our socialist literary seal. For many years you are an editor in the newspapers “Evening news”, “Literature Front”, “National culture”, in the literary journal “Plamuk”. Your work in publishers “Georgi Bakalov” – Varna, and “Bulgarian Writer” is an expression of your diligence.″ - "Азбуки" 5 май 1993,бр.18 Георги Цанков ″Озарения-Изповед след осмата лодка″, Az-buki 5 May 1993, Georgi Tsankov "Illuminations-Confessions after the 8th boat" "In the fog is a literary work of enormous factual and philosophical value. This is an effort to make sense of the Bulgarian character through the prism of maritime influence in the life of our people. The author, [Varban Stamatov] has turned upside down the libraries of Sofia, St.Petersburg, Warsaw, Berlin, Tbilisi, Rieka, London, Paris and Genoa, for decades gathering material, not missing any important publication on marine navigation whatsoever, and covering centuries of national history. He emerges before the reader's court with a subjective though hard to disprove theory. He tells inspiringly of the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms, yet quite generally his reasoning is at cross purposes with that of the history textbooks. Stamatov cannot be a bombastic, blinded patriot, he sees the megalomaniacal ambitions of our potentates who dreamt of overtaking ByzantiumByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
. He speaks with confidence of three centuries of bloodshedding wars, whose sole purpose had not been the defence of the native land. He examines them as a feature of bracing energy, as a will of state establishment and ambition to include more land for the Slavic people. Isn’t it true, as in our past – since Tsar Samuil destroyed his brother Aaron's family, all the way to the “September Uprising” and “the people’s law-court” - that there has ever been the sinister sequence of fratricidal brawls, is it not true, that for eleven centuries we lived at the heart of the now extinct church cannon of ByzantiumByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, of the re-introduced heresies, of the translated semi-scientific compilations within monastic-cell tuition. The author does not bypass the frozen by canonical dictum restrictions in art and culture, but he discovers just one truly illuminated figure, that of the great John ExarchJohn ExarchJohn Exarch was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and translator, one of the most important men of letters working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. Evidence about his life is scarce but his literary legacy suggests an excellent...
, author of the unique in breadth and volume work of enlightenment in Middle Ages Bulgaria, “The Six Days”. Quite probably all the old 'pro-bulgarianists' will jump, and so will all the historians, but let them before that, think on the author’s words: 'our Odyssey in history is from beginning to end without sea, without horizons, lacking thirst for discovering new worlds, without wandering warriors, merchants or seafaring travellers'." - ″Пламък″ Май 1984, Банчо Банов, ″Овладяване на морската тема″ София Plamuk, May 1984, Bancho Banov, "Conquering the marine theme" Sofia. “Varban Stamatov isn't one of the praised writers. Furthermore, his name is comparatively seldom seen in literary articles or reviews. I don’t say this to reproach the critics. I consider something else to be more important : he is one of the read writers. Not only men at sea are reading him, those who can recognize themselves in his novels. His creative writing attracts much wider audience, who, in literature search the spirit of the times, truths about moving forward, about the complicated transformation of the human being. Naturally, the marine theme, if it can be called that, is the basis and prevalent in his books. Having taken possession of him since the start of his path in literature, she gradually widened her borders and reached ever greater depths. From “Coast of the poor” through to “Islanders”, “Flagman” and “The great bitter lake” to “Cricket on the Pole” Varban Stamatov unfolded a previously unknown in our literature marine panorama, recreated a new, unresearched by no one else reality in the life of the Bulgarian man. “ ibid. “If in “Flagman” the field of action is deliberately restricted to only the ship’s deck, the “Great bitter lake” is a novel about the contemporary Bulgarian sailor, placed at the centre of the greatest and most turbulent on earth tremors. The rich and complex composition affords the author a freedom to direct his characters to hot spots on the planet everywhere, where a battle is raging against violence and evil. In the novel , the linear annotations of the plot are oddly intertwined and connected. They run in two dimensions: in actual reality-on the old trough, anchored in the Suez Canal during the Israeli aggression, and, in the imaginary, desired world of the characters – experienced in the contra-revolution in Chile, in the victory of the African nations, in the massacres in Indonesia, and who knows where else. This compositional decision has enabled Stamatov to describe to the greatest degree the mentality and soul of his heroes, to reveal their insight into the revolutionary pulse of the times, their solidarity towards each justified human act, and their dedication.”
- Stamatov V., Hostage and fugitive Fatherland 1997 p. 7 ″Всеки, живял на земята, е една малка тайна, най-често неизказана по ред причини, само един пътник, който идва и си отива, много рядко оставяйки подире си някакава реална следа. В последна сметка всички до един, при цялата си суетност, сме само прах за вятъра, за да бъдем най-често още приживе ответи заедно с всичките си смешни пристрастия, нетърпимости, мании за правота, страхове, ахмачество...″ ″Each of us who has been on this earth, is a tiny enigma frequently unspoken for various reasons, and is just a one-way passenger who comes and goes seldom leaving some tangible trail. All of us in the final reckoning, no matter how vain, are merely dust for the wind, to be blown about whilst yet alive along with all our absurd passions, misapprehensions, intolerances, manias for achieving justice, fears, foolery...″
External links
- http://berberian11.tripod.com/hayrabedjan_armenians.htm
- http://webmonitor.fyxm.net/www.helikon.bg
- http://www.collectorfamily.com/book.php?pageNum_rsBooks=4
- http://www.collectorfamily.com/book.php?
- http://www.posadskydvor.ru/colon.php?id=562
- http://www.kubon-sagner.de/opac.html?filter...mode=refine&sort=1
- http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/31717/