Jorge Sarabia Martínez, Contributing Editor
Translations from the Bulgarian
Пенчо Славейков
“Сън за щастие”
(1906)
Безумний вихър на живота
подмята го насам-натам –
в безумний вихър на живота
безумно той се хвърли сам.
В безумний вихър на живота
де той ще спре? На кой ли бряг…
В безумний вихър на живота
тежко на тръгналий без стяг.
Pencho Slaveikov
sueño para la felicidad
(1906)
El loco torbellino de la vida,
un continuo ir y venir
el loco torbellino de la vida
que corre despreocupado.
El loco torbellino de la vida
¿cuándo se detendrá? En cuya orilla…
El loco torbellino de la vida
es difícil si no tienes bandera.
About the translator:
Jorge Sarabia Martínez is a writer, poet, translator, performer, and artist. hH is familiar to audiences in Andalusia and Canaria under his heteronym Borge Luis Jorges as a co-host of the program Sonrie como Puedes on Radio Nacional Canarias or in the most bohemian café theatres where he recites his Gilicoñeces, El coñómano or Mariscus Interruptus. Among Sarabia Martinez’s credits are a translation of Massimiliano Gatti’s Stanze Istanze from Italian to Spanish and several published books, most notably Fausto, o desesperadamente azul, a modern theatrical (per)version of the classical myth. He is currently living in Andalusia after many years abroad. Sarabia Martinez is a Contributing Editor at O:JA&L.
About Pencho Slaveikov:
Pencho Slaveikov(1866- 1912), son of the writer Petko Slaveykov and husband of the poet Mara Belchevais, is one of the most well-known Bulgarian poets. He was a member of the Bulgarian Literary Society and a founding member of the influential literary group “The Thought Circle,” named for the important Bulgarian arts publication Thought, which published between 1898 and 1907. The Thought Circle sought to “Europeanize” Bulgarian Literature, to enrich it ideologically, to make it relevant to contemporary life, to achieve its artistic renewal, and to improve its status among the world’s literatures. From 1901 to 1911, Slaveikov was associated as an administrator and Director of Bulgaria’s National Library. In January 1912, the Swedish academic Alfred Jensen nominated Slaveikov’s work for a Nobel Prize. Because of Slaceikov’s unexpected death in June of the same year, his chef-d’oeuvre Bloody Song and other work was not considered by the Nobel Committee.
(1866-1912) Uno de los poetas búlgaros más populares, hijo del también escritor Petko Slaveikov y marido de la poeta Mara Belcheva. Encontró en la poesía un alivio para su salud, siempre delicada y enfermiza. Viajero apasionado, ciudadano del mundo, director de la Biblioteca Nacional de Bulgaria y eterno candidato al Nobel de Literatura.
Image: 124th Infantry, 2nd Battalion, Florida National Guard crossing the berm into Iraq by Sgt. First Class Elzie Golden. Oil on canvas. No size specified. By 2003. Public domain.
