В такива следобеди / Afternoons like these

Author’s bio:

Teodora Lalova (1992) was born in Varna and grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria. She studied at the National Lyceum for Ancient Languages and Cultures, obtained a Master of Laws degree from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, and holds an LL.M. in International and European Business Law from KU Leuven (Belgium). She is currently a PhD candidate at KU Leuven and lives in Brussels. Her poetry has been featured in numerous Bulgarian and international outlets (such as Crosspoint, Literaturen vestnik, Liternet, Black Bough magazine, Porridge magazine, Philological forum, Kadar 25, the anthologies “Zonata” (Ars, 2017) and “The Circle 19: a Brussels anthology” (IDLE TIME PRESS, LLC, 2019)), and she holds awards from several Bulgarian poetry competitions. “Afternoons Like These” (Ars, 2021) is her first poetry collection.

The book:

The book contains poems (in Bulgarian and in English) and photographs, created at the crossroads of Belgium and the author’s native Bulgaria. The texts relate to the experience of the traveling person, the one growing up and maturing in between departures and returns. It is a tale of cities, a meditation on time. The photos are included in black and white, and complement the poems by giving a visual glimpse into some of the places that are mentioned in the book: Brussels, Leuven, Oostduinkerke, Sofia, Balchik... Finally, the choice to include the poems in two languages and the work on the translation itself also forms an important part of the book’s identity. The author worked together with Jason Spinks (a Belgian-American writer, who was born and grew up in Belgium) and Kalin Petkov (a Bulgarian japanologist who is currently living in Japan and doing a PhD in calligraphy). One poem is translated by Gabriela Manova, a Bulgarian poet and editor, who is currently doing a Masters degree in translation. Thus, the translation team and their work represent to some extent what Belgium embodies best: people meeting at the intersection of cultures and languages.  

"Though this book felt that its story is ready to be told after several years of living in Europe, it doesn't toy with the high note of nostalgia or the overtones of absence. It is perfectly played to the score of the humble search for meaning. Teodora Lalova's "Afternoons Like These" does not flirt with names of places and personalities, but explores them in the spaces of spiritual volume between departure and staying, between the acknowledged sense of retaining one's identity and changing. And all of this - seen through a gaze that knows well and works virtuosically with that particular pre-sunset light in which everything becomes softer, caressing the senses gently, but a light that brings out contours and essences clearly..."  (Valentin Dishev)

Expo

In de faculteitsibliotheek, vleugel Magnel, 1e verdieping.

Vanaf 14 maart 2022.

Artikel over deze expo in Bulgarka Magazine (Bulgaars): Между поезията и фотографията – интервю с Теодора Лалова