Shining Wind/Сияен вятър in Bulgaria

On Tuesday, 29 April 2025, the BHS bilingual anthology Shining Wind/Сияен вятър was officially launched in Bulgaria. The event took place at the Literary Club of Sofia City Library. Iliyana Stoyanova, President of the British Haiku Society, presented the anthology on behalf of the editorial team: A A Marcoff, David Bingham, Iliyana Stoyanova, Vladislav Hristov, and Maya Daneva. The programme also included readings by participating Bulgarian poets, as well as ethno compositions by Petar Tchouhov and Ivan Hristov from the group “Gologan“.

The bilingual anthology Shining Wind/Сияен вятър celebrates the many ways light is captured in haiku, featuring works by 139 poets from 16 countries, including 35 Bulgarian poets from both Bulgaria and the diaspora. With contributions from such a diverse range of voices, the anthology beautifully illuminates the connections between language, culture, and the natural world.

Iliyana shared with the audience Maya’s warm and emotional greeting message as well as Vladislav’s official address to the audience:

“We live in times when people need, more than ever, contact with others who truly understand them. If there is a genre in poetry that is closest to genuine sharing, it is undoubtedly haiku. These short poems connect us with kindred spirits from all over the world. This is precisely the idea behind this important collection for the world of haiku—a collection that gathers the emotions and hopes of dozens of poets, each bearing the unique features of their national literatures. It is a bouquet of cultures, brought together by the need to communicate beyond borders and conventions.

Haiku is a genre of freedom—above all, freedom of expression. When we express ourselves freely, the chance of being understood is much greater. Haiku gives us this opportunity. And here is the wonderful result! Before you lies a collection that preserves the traces of friendship. Because haiku, besides being about freedom, is also about friendship—a poetry that brings like-minded people together, not only on social media, but also in person.

Haiku needs live meetings more than anything, and I am convinced that haiku will continue to exist as long as there are real, face-to-face encounters between people. May it be that after this book launch, even as you all scatter through the streets of Sofia like dandelion seeds, the spirit of haiku and friendship will always remain with you—until the next collection, until the next live gathering. Be healthy and love one another! Wishing the book a successful journey to its readers—it fully deserves it, for the light it carries within, and for the light we so deeply need now.” (Vladislav Hristov, Plovdiv, 25 April 2025)

Here is a selection from the poems read at the event by participating Bulgarian poets:

the blind beggar fingers
the coin I gave him…
full moon

—Darina Deneva

a cloister
in the light of burning candles
nuns grind tea

—Dilyana Georgieva

spring moon
the shadow of the cat—
thinner

—Elisaveta Shapkareva

winter solstice
the stained-glass window
reflected in the snow

—Iliyana Stoyanova

first snow
the autumn leaves
more visible

—Krisitna Todorova

my wife
still smiles the same way
as at our wedding

—Margarit Zhekov

morning din
peeps through the windows
the day moon

—Minko Tanev

falling star
the dark window
of the nursery

—Petar Tchouhov

cherry blossom rain
mum’s forever home
in a spring rainbow

—Stoianka Boianova

Write-up by Iliyana Stoyanova
Photos by Iva Harizanova