Author: Angelika Kosieradzka
University of Warsaw
Translation from Polish by Dimitrina Hamze
Published in Slavyanski dialozi, XX, 2023, 32.
Abstract: The goal of this article is to make an overview of literary representations of Plovdiv’s cultural diversity. Using the example of two Bulgarian contemporary novels—Far from Toledo by Angel Wagenstein and Angel’s Tongues by Dimitré Dinev— I consider the ways in which the multiculturalism of Plovdiv is presented through the prism of local micro-histories. Keeping in mind the genological solutions used by both authors, I shall take into account both the fictionality of the depicted world and the referential dimension of the works. Using contemporary literature, I will analyze the continuity between actual historical processes and the private experience not only of Plovdiv’s multicultural diversity, but also of its gradual disintegration as described in the novels.
Key words: Angel Wagenstein, Dimitré Dinev, Plovdiv, multiculturalism, minorities, Bulgarian literature, contemporary literature