Balgarianovinite.com The story of war is always fiction, and in the present day this fiction also passes through video games, said Bulgarian poet Yordan Eftimov at the Bookfest in Bucharest on Saturday. He was presenting his poetry collection Before They Wash Off the Blood, in Romanian translation. The event also featured the translator, Livia Nistor.
Speaking to the audience at the Romexpo exhibition centre, Eftimov said: “About every war, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, two things must be said. The first is that everything about war has already been said by Homer in his Iliad. There is no need to ask any contemporary political scientist what will happen; we simply need to read Homer. And secondly, of course, war is above all cynicism.”
The Bulgarian poet said he deeply admires Russian literature because, in his view, its greatest writers are anti-imperialist and despise their rulers. “There is simply no Russian writer who has not written against the tsar. That is why we cannot but love Russian literature; it despises the Russian state,” he said.
Eftimov also read the first poem he wrote for the collection on March 1, 2022, titled “The Fridge, the Television and the Tank”. He recalled a moment in 2023 when he was invited to speak on Bulgaria’s Independence Day.
“I was the writer who, in the central square of Bulgaria’s capital, was supposed to say something nice about our independence. But I ended up saying that in the American constitution there is a reference to the need for all nations to be free, whereas in ours it speaks only about our own people. And secondly, I said that quite nearby there is a country, half of which is occupied — Transnistria — and if we celebrate our independence while ignoring that just a few hundred kilometres away there is an occupied neighbouring country, then we are simply dishonest people,” the poet said.
Eftimov expressed his delight at being published in Romanian by Max Blecher. “It is a publishing house entirely devoted to poetry. A publishing house that has already published four Bulgarian poets before me. A publishing house that made a cover for my book that is a hundred times better than the Bulgarian one,” he said.
He added that he hopes literature reaches the right people, “those who will have the courage and boldness to read the book, and not stop at the titles.” He also said: “I hope that in the end every worthwhile book reaches readers who are not only capable of enjoying it, but also of being angered by it.”
At the end of the event, the Bulgarian poet signed copies at the Max Blecher stand.
Bulgaria is the guest of honour at the 2026 Bookfest in the Romanian capital. Poet Yordan Eftimov Discusses War and Literature at Bucharest Event 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-06-06 18:09:27 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law