Yordan Radichkov's native village can no longer be visited. Kalimanitsa, where the writer was born on October 24, 1929, is today located under the waters of the Ogosta dam. However, the place does not disappear from his work – it becomes his small homeland, populated by people, animals, strange events and words that sound both funny and sad.
Radichkov graduated from high school in Berkovitsa in 1947. Later, he himself spoke ironically about his school years: “I had mostly poor grades in Bulgarian language and literature.“ The reason, according to him, was that he could not write an essay according to the mandatory scheme with an introduction, exposition and conclusion. “I start as I like, and I end the story as I like“, says the writer.
Before books comes journalism
His professional path began not as an established author, but as a journalist. In 1951, Radichkov became a correspondent for the newspaper "Narodna Mlazed", and between 1952 and 1954 he worked as its editor. After that, he was an editor for "Vecherni noviny", and between 1960 and 1962 he was involved in script work at Bulgarian Cinematography. From 1962 to 1969, he was an editor and member of the editorial board of "Literary Front".
This work introduced him to various people in the country and to the language of everyday life. In his prose, colloquial speech is not a decoration, but a driving force of the narrative. His characters speak in dialects, invented words, proverbs and seemingly absurdities, behind which there is often a serious question about man and his place in the world.
Siberia and “We, the Sparrows“
One of the important trips in his life was a visit to Siberia. It became the basis for the book “The Unsanctified Yards“, published in 1966. The work is both a travelogue and a reflection on a different world, on memory and on the way in which a person recognizes himself far from home.
In the 1960s, Radichkov gradually built the style with which he remained in Bulgarian literature. After “A Savage Mood“, “The Unsanctified Yards“ and “We, the Sparrows“ appeared – a book in which little birds are given their own world, character and human sensitivity. This was followed by „Gunpowder Primer“, „Camel“, „Noah's Ark“ and the plays „Sumatoha“, „January“, „Lazaritsa“ and „Attempt to Fly“.
Recognition at home and abroad
Radichkov received the „Grintsane Cavour“ award in 1984, and in 1988 he was awarded the Swedish Royal Order of the „Polar Star“. In 2000 he received the „Stara Planina“ Order - first degree. A year later, Sofia University initiated the writer's nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
His last book of interviews – “Wandering Words“ – was published in 2003. Yordan Radichkov died on January 21, 2004 in Sofia. He left behind a world in which sparrows can be storytellers, a village can become a myth, and a single word can carry more memory than an entire monument.
Sources: archives.bnr.bg, old-news.bnr.bg, newspaper.kultura.bg