BULGARIAN POET AND WRITER GEORGI GOSPODINOV: I LOVE POETRY BECAUSE IT IS WRITTEN ONLY THROUGH INSPIRATION

The writer Georgi Gospodinov recently met with students from Sofia high schools in the Sofia City Art Gallery. He told them about his work, the literature and the life of Bulgarian classic writers. Finally, he answered questions from the students. "Dnevnik" published three of them.

Do you write only when you feel inspired or also when it is necessary?

- I write in both cases. The idea can come to you everywhere. But sometimes when I have to finish something in time, I have no time and can not wait for inspiration.

There are cases where you do not write, writers block. Various ways of getting out of this state are described, but they are individual. For example, Friedrich Schiller kept rotten apples in a cupboard, for the odor of rot was providing for breakthrough in his inspiration. Another one tapped his feet on something.

That's why I love poetry because it is written only through inspiration and it can appear everywhere at any moment.

Do you read your books after you publish them?

- That's always strange. It usually happens in an obligation, most often when the book is translated into another language. Because the translator always has questions and you have to read the whole book so you can answer.
When you read them, you discover things you could have written better. Some things can go away. "Natural novel" came out 20 years ago, and when I read it, I say to myself: "Hey, could have done more here."

Do you edit yourself?

- I'm basically editing while writing. Some writers do it after the second or third edition of their books, but this is primarily for advertising purposes. The big adjustments I make are when I write.

Do you know if your books have changed someone's life?

"I once received a letter after the publication of "And Other Stories" by a reader who got married thanks to one of the stories. She had a friend who had not offered her a marriage for a long time. One day she gave him the book, leaving a note at the beginning of one of the stories: "If you want us to stop accidentally meeting at airports, do something!"

The meeting was attended by Mayor of Sofia Yordanka Fandakova and Yana Genova, Director of the Next Page Foundation and of the Literary and Translation House in Sofia.

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