Ivan Teofilov and Georgi Gospodinov: An Epistolary Journey through Bulgaria between the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

Abstract

This article examines the autobiographical and cultural significance of Za radostta i ezika. Razgovor s pisma s Georgi Gospodinov (2023), the epistolary dialogue between Ivan Teofilov and Georgi Gospodinov. Through a close reading of the volume, the study reconstructs Teofilov’s intellectual and artistic trajectory from his childhood in Plovdiv to his activity as playwright, poet, translator and dramaturge under the Bulgarian socialist regime. Particular attention is devoted to the innovative theatrical experience of Burgas in the late 1950s and early 1960s, interpreted as a rare space of artistic freedom and aesthetic experimentation within a strongly ideological political system. The article also highlights the complex relationship between literature, censorship and political power in communist Bulgaria, emphasizing the role of individuals and cultural networks that helped preserve forms of spiritual and artistic resistance. Beyond its literary value, the volume emerges as an important historical and cultural testimony on Bulgarian intellectual life from the Second World War to the post-1989 transition.