Bulgaria Honors Literary Giant Nikolay Liliev
Jerusalem, 26 May, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) – Nikolay Liliev , one of Bulgaria’s greatest poets, was a bank clerk, teacher, bibliographer, military man, and longtime playwright of the National Theater. On Monday, the nation celebrates the 140th anniversary of his birth.
His real name is Nikolay Mihaylov Popivanov, born on May 26, 1885 in Stara Zagora. He was an orphan from a young age. He received his initial education in his hometown. In 1903, he graduated from the Svishtov Commercial High School. For some time, he was a clerk in the Stara Zagora Agricultural Bank.
In the period 1905-1906 he studied literature in Lausanne. From 1907 to 1908 he worked as a clerk in Dolna Banya . From 1908 to 1909 he was a teacher in the commercial department of the Third Sofia Boys’ High School. In 1909 he received a scholarship through a competition from the Ministry of Trade and went to study commerce in Paris – from 1909 to 1912. After that he was a teacher in the commercial high schools in Plovdiv and Svishtov.
During World War I (1914-1918), Liliev was a private in the 56th Regiment and a correspondent for the Second Thracian Division. After the war, he worked in the Directorate for Economic Care and Public Providence, in the publishing house of Alexander Paskalev, in the Press Directorate at the Foreign Ministry, and in various editorial offices.
In 1921, together with Nikola Mihov, he went to Vienna and Munich , where the two collected information about Bulgarian economic life from foreign literary publications and compiled a rich and valuable bibliography.
From 1924 to 1928 he was a playwright at the Ivan Vazov National Theater in Sofia. He was a teacher of French at the Higher School of Commerce in Varna – from 1932 to 1934.
From 1934 until the end of his life, Liliev was a playwright at the National Theater. He participated in the editorial board of “Izvestia na Institut za Literatura”. In 1945, he was elected an academician.
Until 1908, he was known by his middle name, Nikolay Mihaylov. He first signed himself with the pseudonym Liliev in the magazine “Savremennik” edited by Georgi Bakalov.
‘Moon Spots’ and Other Literature
Liliev entered literary life at the beginning of the 20th century, together with Dimcho Debelyanov, Nikolay Raynov, Lyudmil Stoyanov, Georgi Raychev and other young Bulgarian artists. He was connected with these names by deep and lasting friendships, as well as common cultural interests.
In 1914, he contributed poems, criticism, and translations to the five volumes of the magazine “Zveno” edited by Dimitar Podvarzachov. In 1919, Liliev’s first collection of poems, “Birds in the Night,” was published. It was published by the publishing house “Alexander Paskalev and Co.,” and its cover was designed by Nikolay Raynov. The book quickly sold out, and about a year later, its second edition was published.
In 1922, the Zora publishing house published Liliev’s second collection of poems – “Moon Spots”. At that time, the poet was already a permanent collaborator and co-editor of the newly created magazine “Zlatorog” by Vladimir Vasilev. Liliev’s third book of poetry was entitled “Poems” and was printed in 1932 by the publishing house of Todor Filipov Chipev. It mainly included works from Liliev’s previous books. In March 1934, the lyrical cycle “By the Sea”, created during Liliev’s stay in Varna, was published in the magazine “Zlatorog”.
Nikolai Liliev’s contribution to the art of translation is significant. He is the author of translations of lyrical works – “The Fire” by Henri Barbusse (together with Yordan Mechkarov), “Tsar Feodor” by Alexei Tolstoy, “The Chalk Circle” by Klabund, poems by French, German and Russian poets – Heinrich Heine, Hermann Hesse, Gottfried Keller, Nikolaus Lenau, Richard Demel, Emile Verhaeren, Lecomte de Lille, Rilke, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Alexander Pushkin, etc. As a playwright at the National Theater, he actively supported the translation of foreign-language dramaturgy and himself translated “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “King Lear” by William Shakespeare, “The Cid” by Pierre Corneille, “Hernani” by Victor Hugo, “Electra” by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, “Little Eyolf” by Henrik Ibsen, “The Miracle of St. Anthony” by Maurice Maeterlinck, etc.
He is the author of critical and memoir texts about Bulgarian literary artists such as Ivan Vazov, Peyo Yavorov, Elin Pelin, Yordan Yovkov, Dimcho Debelyanov, Dimitar Podvarzachov, Georgi Raichev, Hristo Smirnenski, Nikola Vaptsarov , etc. He writes theoretical articles on issues of fiction, translation, stage speech, acting and the system of Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky.
Nikolay Liliev is a recipient of the Order of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria (second degree, 1955), the Order of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria (first degree, 1960). In 1952, for his contribution to Bulgarian theater, he was awarded the title of “Honored Theater Worker”.
He died on October 6, 1960 in Sofia.
