Nikolay Haytov ( bg, Николай Хайтов), or Nikolai Haitov (15 September 1919 – 30 June 2002) was 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 fiction writer,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
,
patriot
A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism.
Patriot may also refer to:
Political and military groups United States
* Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution
* Patriot m ...
and
publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...
known for his publications and research regarding the life of Bulgarian revolutionary
Vasil Levski
Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed th ...
.
Early life and education
Born to a poor family of ordinary peasants in the village of , in
Kuklen
Kuklen ( bg, Куклен ) is a town in southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province. It is located 7 km to the south of the nearest major city, Plovdiv, and is approximately 140 km south east of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Kuklen was ...
municipality,
Plovdiv Province
Plovdiv Province ( bg, Област Пловдив: ''Oblast Plovdiv'', former name Plovdiv okrug) is a province in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities (общини, ''obshtini'', sing. общинa, ''obshtina'') on a ter ...
, Haytov finished junior high school in his native village and then moved to
Plovdiv
Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...
, where, instead of studying, he worked as an apprentice in a flour shop, as a waiter in a pub, as a valet and in the railway. He finished high school in
Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad ( bg, Асеновград ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a town in central southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province. It is the largest town in Bulgaria that is not a province center. Previously known as ''Stanimaka'' ( ...
in 1938, becoming attracted to the work of writers such as
Zahari Stoyanov
Zahariy Stoyanov ( bg, Захарий Стоянов; archaic: ) (1850 – 2 September 1889), born Dzhendo Stoyanov Dzhedev ( bg, Джендо Стоянов Джедев), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, writer, and historian.
A participant ...
,
Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of ...
,
Elin Pelin
Elin Pelin ( bg, Елин Пелин ) (8 July 1877 – 3 December 1949), born Dimitar Ivanov Stoyanov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Стоянов) is considered Bulgaria’s best narrator of the Bulgarian (Balkan) countryside and village.
...
and
Yordan Yovkov
Yordan Stefanov Yovkov ( bg, Йордан Стефанов Йовков) (November 9, 1880 – October 15, 1937) was a prominent Bulgarian writer from the interwar period.
Biography
Born in the village of Zheravna, Yovkov studied at First Sofia M ...
. Haytov graduated from the Faculty of Forestry 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 1943.
He became a soldier in Plovdiv in the autumn of 1944 and then went on to work as a forest guard and forester in the
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...
: in the Persenk forestry enterprise, in
Lesichovo
Lesichovo ( bg, Лесичово) is a village in the Pazardzhik Province, Bulgaria. As of 2005 it has 982 inhabitants. The village is a centre of the Lesichovo Municipality. It hosts an annual Kukeri
Kukeri ( bg, кукери; singular: kuker ...
, in
Sapareva Banya
Sapareva Banya ( bg, Сапарева баня, transliterated ''Sapareva banya'') is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Kyustendil Province. As Ancient Germania (in Dacia), a former bishopric, it is a Latin Catholic titular see.
It is loca ...
and in the Raduil section of the
Borovets
Borovets ( bg, Боровец ), known as Chamkoria ( ) until the middle of the 20th century, is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Province, on the northern slopes of Rila, at an altitude of 1350 m. Borovets is located appr ...
enterprise. Sentenced to eight years in prison for incorrect distribution of wood and dismissed by the Ministry of Forestry, his sentence was later repealed, but he nevertheless remained unemployed for two years.
Writing career
His first feature article was published in 1954 in the ''Septemvri'' magazine, and he continued to work with the magazine, which printed the story ''Sluchay bez pretsedent'' (''Case With No Precedent'') and another article. Haytov then wrote articles for ''
Rabotnichesko Delo'', ''Kooperativno selo'' and other newspapers. Some of these articles were published in his first book ''Sapernitsi'' (''Rivals'') in 1957. Haytov was accepted as a member of the (UBW) in 1959 and worked as an editor for the newspaper ''Narodna kultura'' and the magazine ''Nasha rodina''. Between 1975 and 1977 he was the chairman of the Capital Council of Culture, a member of the executive council of UBW since 1966 and its secretary between 1966 and 1968. In 1966 he became editor-in-chief of ''Rodopi'' magazine.
In 1967, Haytov's famous book ''Divi razkazi'' (''Wild Stories'') was released. Since published in ten editions in Bulgaria and translated in 28 languages, including
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
, it is regarded as one of the most successful modern Bulgarian literary works. The book is included in the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Historical Collection.
UNESCO Literature & Translation
/ref>
Haytov's ''Izbrani proizvedeniya'' (''Selected Works'') was published in 1989 in three volumes. He has written over 10 stage plays, 800 articles and reviews. The total print of Haytov's books released in Bulgaria is over 4 million. He was also the screenplay writer for a number of films and TV series, including ''The Goat Horn
''The Goat Horn'' ( bg, Козият рог, translit. Koziyat rog) is a 1972 Bulgarian drama film directed by Metodi Andonov, starring Anton Gorchev and Katya Paskaleva. The film is set in 17th Century Bulgaria where Kara Ivan's wife is ...
'' (1972), ''Manly Times
''Manly Times'' ( bg, Мъжки времена, translit=Mazhki vremena, italic=yes) is a Bulgarian drama film released in 1977, directed by Eduard Zahariev, starring Grigor Vachkov, Mariana Dimitrova, Velko Kanev and Pavel Popandov. The screen ...
'' (1977), '' Captain Petko Voivode'', ''Darvo bez koren'', ''Orisiya'', ''Semeystvo Kalinkovi'', ''Lamyata''.
Chairman of UBW between 1993 and 1999, Haytov is the winner of numerous awards and orders. He has two sons, Aleksandar and Zdravets, and a daughter, Elena. Haytov died of leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
in 2002.
Works
*''Sapernitsi'' (1957)
*''Iskritsi ot ognishteto'' (1959)
*''Razbudena Rodopa'' (1960)
*''Pisma ot pushtinatsite'' (1960)
*''Hayduti'' (1962)
*''Starite u doma'' (1962)
*''Zheni haydutki'' (1962)
*''Matey Mitkaloto'' (1964)
*''Shumki ot gabar'' (1965)
*''Rumyana voyvoda'' 1965)
*''Rodopski vlastelini'' (1965)
*''Divi razkazi'' (1967)
*''Magyosnikat ot Breze'' (1979)
*''Hvarkatoto korito'' 1979)
*''Rodopskite komiti razkazvat'' (1972)
*''Kapitan Petko Voyvoda'' (1974)
*''Razkazi i eseta'' 1984)
*''Da vazsednesh gligan'' 1985)
*''Bodlivata roza'' (1975)
*''Valshebnoto ogledalo'' (1981)
*''Poslednite migove i grobat na Vasil Levski'' (1985)
*''Izbrani proizvedeniya'' (1989)
*''Prez sito i resheto'' (2003, posthumously)
*''Troyanskite kone v Balgariya'' (2002, posthumously)
*''Dnevnitsi''
References
External links
Nikolay Haytov on Liternet.bg
monograph
A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject.
In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haytov, Nikolay
Bulgarian male short story writers
Bulgarian speculative fiction writers
Bulgarian nationalists
Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
1919 births
2002 deaths
20th-century Bulgarian short story writers