Bułgaria i Polska: paralele literackie i kulturowe. Studia

Abstract

The presented publication is a monograph dedicated to the literary, historical, and linguistic relationships between Poland and Bulgaria, presented by researchers in an interdisciplinary approach. The fundamental event to which the studies and sketches from the volume refer was the International Interdisciplinary Scientific Conference “Polish-Bulgarian linguistic, literary, and cultural contacts. New thematic and methodological approaches”. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference took place in a hybrid form. Guests from Bulgaria and Poland usually joined the event online, and the place of on-site conference, the Książnica Podlaska of Łukasz Górnicki in Białystok, hosted a small group of Polish academics. The sessions took place simultaneously in Białystok and Veliko Tarnovo on 9 December 2021. In the opinion of both sides, the event was very successful and necessary in the era of the global crisis as it helped sustain the bonds in spite of adverse external conditions (the pandemic and geopolitical tension). The participants were invited to reflect on the following issues: – The relationships between Bulgaria and Poland and how they are reflected in literature. – Linguistic testimonies of the Polish-Bulgarian contacts. – Cultural and historical aspects of the relationships between Bulgaria and Poland. – Proposed new methodological approaches to mutual relations. – Slavic and European aspects of the mutual perception of the Bulgarians and the Poles. – Transgression of stereotypes: textual and artistic testimonies. – The Poles and the Bulgarians in the eyes of foreigners. – Poles in Veliko Tarnovo and Bulgarians in Białystok: the twists of history and fate. The Organisational Committee of the conference was composed of Bulgarian and Polish scientists. The opening ceremony was held by Bulgarian and Polish participants: Professor Tsenka Ivanova (Veliko Tarnovo), Professor Jarosław Ławski (Białystok), Professor Margreta Grigorova (Veliko Tarnovo), Professor Anna Janicka (Białystok) and Dr Nevyan Mitev (Varna). The presented monograph contains most of the presentations that were delivered during the session. The materials were grouped into four chapters. Chapter 1 (Ludzie międzykulturowych dialogów (People of inter-cultural dialogues)) presents the profiles of scientists, artists, and writers who built bridges between Bulgarian and Polish culture: Professor Kalina Bahneva, Bulgarian painters who work in Białystok: Georgi Andreev and Grozdev. Chapter 2 (Literackie paralele i opozycje (Literary parallels and oppositions)) provides a comparative study of various aspects of the works of Petko Slaveikov, Stoyan Mihaylovski, Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Pencho Slaveikov, Tadeusz Miciński, Elin Pelin, Władysław Orkan, and Zygmunt Niedźwiecki. Chapter 3 (Ku źródłom (Towards the Sources)) presents various “source” topics for both cultures: the neo-Manichean of the Bogomilists among the Slavs, the echoes of the “march of Andrzej Bogolubski on the Volga Bulgarians in 1164” that are noticeable in the cult of the icon of the Holy Mary of Vladimir, and – in linguistic terms – the forms of addressing clergy in the Bulgarian and Polish languages and problems of language teaching in the Polish-Bulgarian context. Chapter 4 (Nawiązania i konteksty (References and Contexts)) presents four different contextual topics: the shaping of the images of Poland and Bulgaria in the poetry of the Russian Slavophilist Alexei Khomiakov, the image of the Balkans in 1876 in Polish political writings, further the contemporary activities of the Park and Museum of King Władysław Warneńczyk in Varna, which commemorates the battle with Turks in 1444, and fi nally, the shaping of the image of Poles on the Bulgarian website BG-Mamma. The last section of this fourth chapter contains pho tos that document the long co-operation between philologists from Veliko Tarnovo and Białystok.The volume was edited by: Professor Margreta Grigorova (Department of Slavic Philology at the University of Veliko Tarnovo), and Professor Jarosław Ławski (Head of the Department of Philological Studies “East – West” of the University of Białystok). The publication of the monograph was financed from the project “Regional Excellence Initiative” financed from the funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and realised in the fields of linguistics and literary theory at the Department of Philology of the Białystok University.