Yordan Stefanov Yovkov ( bg, Йордан Стефанов Йовков) (November 9, 1880 – October 15, 1937) was a prominent

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 writer from the interwar period.

Biography

Born in the village of

Zheravna Zheravna ( bg, Жеравна ) is a village in central eastern Bulgaria, part of Kotel municipality, Sliven Province. The village, set in a small valley at the southern foot of the eastern Balkan Mountains, is an architectural reserve of nation ...

, Yovkov studied at First Sofia Men’s High School, from which he graduated in 1900 with honors, and became a teacher. After teaching for one year in a village in central

he entered into the School for Reserve Officers in Knyazhevo as a cadet, before moving to

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 ...

to study law in 1904. When the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

began in 1912, he received the rank of enlisted, and along with his brother Kosta, joined the 41st division (probably 41st regiment) at

Bourgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a popul ...

. He was wounded by a bullet in his leg fighting in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

in 1913, during a battle near Doyran. Following this, he settled 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 ...

and became an editor of the People’s Army (Narodna Armiya) magazine, and then librarian for the Minister of Interior Affairs and editor of a state publication. During World War I, he was sent to work as a border officer at the Greek border near the

Mesta River Nestos ( ), Mesta ( ), or formerly the Mesta Karasu in Turkish (Karasu meaning "black river"), is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. It rises in the Rila Mountains and flows into the Aegean Sea near the island of Thasos. It plunges down towering ...

. Whilst there he received a summons to work as a correspondent for the paper Military News. He spent years teaching in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

until the autumn of 1920, after which he served as a press secretary in the Bulgarian legislation in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

. He was demoted in 1927 for unspecified reasons, which caused him to resign and return to

Literary work and legacy

Yovkov’s war experiences greatly influenced his mentality and style of writing. Whereas his first literary effort was a short story about village life and patriarchal customs, published in 1910, his post-war pieces were more harsh and militaristic. Eventually he moved away from

melancholic Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout History of medicine#Greece and Roman Empire, ancient, medieval medicine of Western Europe, medieval and Lear ...

, depressive themes towards authentic descriptions of villagers and country life. In his short story ''Shibil'', he used ''turkisms'' to give a sense of realism to the work. His works ''Legends of Stara Planina'' (1927, ''Staroplaninski legendi'', alternately known as the ''Balkan Legends'' ) and ''Inn at Antimovo'' (1927) established him as a major writer. In 1929, he received the Cyril and Methodius Prize for Literature from the Bulgarian Academy of Science. His other works include the dramas ''Albena'' (1930) and ''Boryana'' (1932); a comedy ''The Millionaire'' (1930, ''Milionerut''); and a book, ''The Family by the Frontier'' (1934, ''Chiflikut krai granitsata''). "Albena" (1962) - libretto Peter Filchev (after the drama of Yordan Yovkov) and "Millionaire" (1965) were made into operas by

Parashkev Hadjiev Parashkev Hadjiev (Bulgarian: Парашкев Хаджиев; born in Sofia, Bulgaria, 27 April 1912 - 1992) was a Bulgarian composer. He was the son of conductor Todor Hadjiev, an early champion of Bulgarian opera. Some view Parashkev Hadjiev ...

. A number of his stories were made int
films
including ''Nai-vyarnata strazha'' (''The Most Loyal Guard'', film in 1929); ''Shibil'' (1968); ''Nona'' (1973, from the novel ''Chiflikut krai granitsata''); ''24 Chasa duzhd'' (1982, based on the novel ''Chastinyat uchitel''); and ''Serafim''(short movie, 2017). Yordan Yovkov's gravesite

Honors

Yovkov’s natal home in Zheravna was turned into a museum in 1957. In 1985, a dam in northeastern Bulgaria was named after him

situated 5 km from the town of Elena, supplies water to

Veliko Turnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

and surrounding areas. It is 223,000 decares in size and is a hygienic protected zone.

Yovkov Point Yovkov Point (Yovkov Nos \'yov-kov 'nos\) is a point on the southwest coast of Greenwich Island, Antarctica projecting 150 m southwards into McFarlane Strait, forming the northwest side of the entrance to Kramolin Cove. Formed as a result of M ...

Greenwich Island Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The name Greenwic ...

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named for Yordan Yovkov. There is a bust of Yovkov in the park behind

Vasil Levski National Stadium Vasil Levski National Stadium ( bg, Национален стадион „Васил Левски“), named after Bulgarian national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837–1873), is the country's second largest stadium. The stadium has 43,2 ...

in Sofia. The village

Yovkovo Yovkovo ( bg, Йовково ) is a village in General Toshevo Municipality, Dobrich Province, in northeastern Bulgaria.General Toshevo Municipality General Toshevo Municipality ( bg, Община Генерал Тошево) is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Dobrich Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located in Southern Dobruja geographical region, bounded by Romania to the north. It is name ...

Dobrich Province Dobrich Province ( bg, Област Добрич, , former name Dobrich okrug) is a province in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Southern Dobruja geographical region. It is bounded on east by the Black Sea, on south by Varna Province, on west by S ...

is named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yovkov, Yordan 1880 births 1937 deaths Bulgarian writers Bulgarian educators People from Sliven Province Bulgarian military personnel of the Balkan Wars Bulgarian World War I poets Eastern Orthodox Christians from Bulgaria Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria)