On September 14, at the National Palace of Culture, the publishing house “Bulgarian Bestseller – National Museum of the Bulgarian Books and Polygraphy” presented Gueni Zaimof’s latest book. A peculiar dialogue of feelings shared in letters and poems, “A Bridge Across the Ocean” unveils the exciting relationship between two great Bulgarian poets, who lived and worked in emigration – Gueni Zaimof and Hristo Ognyanov.

The book was presented by Sonya Kasavetova in the presence of the author Gueni Zaimof and the publisher Juliana Tomova

The preface to the book is written by Sonya Kasavetova. When she presented the book at the premiere, she said:

“I witnessed the conception of this book and its realisation, how Gueni immersed herself into the atmosphere of their communication, how she experienced again feelings and events of the past and how these moods were transformed into poems. Before me unfolded a poetic dialogue, which started decades ago and continues up to date. Her skill to do everything with passion has always fascinated me. Her curiosity about the world in all its aspects – nature, art or politics, is stunning.

We first met in 1993 when I took an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio. Then I knew little about her creative work, and especially about her life. I was delighted with the fact that our talk went off in a relaxed manner and it soon transcended the bounds of our preliminary arrangements. I was greatly impressed by her artistic achievements in the USA and Italy. She is an honorary doctor of literature at the World University, her voice is recorded at the Congress Library in Washington, and she is a member of the World Association of Poets. Impressive are her collections of poems, translated into Italian and English, as well as the large number of worldwide released anthologies encompassing some of her poems. I was amazed at her friendship with people, who are part of the world cultural history – Corrado Alvaro, Renato Guttuso and Josif Brodsky are just a few of them.

I have learned a lot from my talks with Guieni Zaimof and I have been greatly influenced by her life’s motto, which rejects defeat in all its forms. She returned to Bulgaria along with her books, which had been published abroad. Yet, here in Bulgaria, she wrote nine books of poetry and a book was dedicated to her, “God Has Given Me A Hand” by Zoya Zaharieva-Tsankova, and today we have gathered for the promotion of her latest book, “A Bridge Across the Ocean”. This book provides insight into the lives, problems and thoughts of the two great Bulgarians, compelled to spend most of their active creative lives in emigration. Their letters are a breath of fresh air on the background of the hardships of life. This is a territory of spirituality and friendship, a stimulus for writing and inspiration.

Hristo Ognyanov is a brilliant journalist and a man of acute flare for the topical, shouldering big responsibilities for the Bulgarian emigrants. Unfortunately his work is not popular enough in Bulgaria, yet this goes for many other famous Bulgarians, who are valued and respected abroad but not in Bulgaria. I get embarrassed every time when I have to explain who is Stefan Popov, Konstantin Katsarov or Hristo Ognyanov. Gueni Zaimof would be in the same boat, but she returned home and thanks to the books she published here, she managed to bridge this gap to a large extent.

“A Bridge Across the Ocean” is a book intended for those who are interested in the causes, what lies below the surface, for those who are aware of the significant and peculiar in human relationships. It is not a love story written in epistolary form, although it is imbued with love. It is a personal story of two Bulgarian poets living abroad, part of the grand history of Bulgarian emigration.

I would like to express my gratitude to the publishers, “Bulgarian Bestseller – National Museum of the Bulgarian Books and Polygraphy”, for the superb layout and the high professionalism demonstrated in the publication. The book acquires particular value because of the accompanying CD containing an interview with Gueni Zaimof by the poetess Nadya Popova, poems of the two poetesses performed by actors, and a surprise song sung by Gueni herself. Everything Gueni Zaimof has gathered together in her book is a sure promise of a lot more.”

The guests at the premiere had the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful performance of the children’s choir for Orthodox chants, The Children of Orpheus, conducted by Venetsia Karamanova, which was especially dedicated to Gueni Zaimof. The actors Gergana Kofardjieva and Prof. Petar Petrov read extracts from the letters and poems in the book.