Yana Yazova (

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

: Яна Язова) was the pen name of Lyuba Todorova Gancheva (

: Люба Тодорова Ганчева) (1912 – August 1974), a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n intellectual and writer. Her name is also transcribed as Liuba Gantcheva.

Life

She was born in Lom and received a Master's degree in Slavic philology from

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

in 1935. Gancheva also studied French

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In 1940 she published a historical drama ''The Last of the Pagans'' and a novel ''The Captain''. From 1942 to 1943, she co-edited the children's magazine ''Blok'' with Nikola Balabanov, brother of Prof. Alexander Balabanov, her mentor and lover. Gancheva married another man in 1943. Later in life, she was pressured to write poetry promoting

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

but she instead chose to become a recluse. Her poetry was translated into Esperanto, Czech, Serbian and Ukrainian. She travelled extensively in Europe and the Near East and wrote about her travels. Her historical novel ''Alexander of Macedon'', the trilogy ''Balkans'' and the anti-communist novel ''Salt Gulf'' were published after her death. She was found murdered in her home in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

in 1974.

Selected works

* ''Yazove'', poetry (1931) * ''Revolt'', poetry (1934) * ''Crosses'', poetry (1935) * ''Ana Dyulgerova'', novel (1936) * ''The Captain'', novel (1940) * ''Balkans'', novel (1987-1989) * ''Alexander of Macedon'', novel (2002) * ''Salt Gulf'', novel (2003)

References

1912 births 1974 deaths 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century Bulgarian poets 20th-century Bulgarian women writers 20th-century Bulgarian novelists Bulgarian historical fiction writers Bulgarian women poets Female murder victims People from Lom, Bulgaria Pseudonymous women writers Unsolved murders in Bulgaria {{Bulgaria-writer-stub

Life

See also

Selected works

References