On Thursday evening, a meeting with the writer, literary critic and literary historian Katya Zografova took place at the “Ananie Yavashov” House Museum in Razgrad, organized by the Regional History Museum. The theme of the literary evening was “Women in History and Culture”. Admirers of Katya Zografova’s work learned from her personally many interesting facts about the latest and research achievements that she presented. On the eve of the upcoming holiday of March 8, the theme was with an emphasis on the life and work of prominent Bulgarian women.
Prof. Rositsa Angelova PhD, head of the Department of “New and Recent History” at the RHM, outlined Zografova’s creative profile to the attendees. Prof. Angelova described the writer as one of the brightest researchers of Bulgarian culture and recalled that she has created dozens of books and hundreds of publications dedicated to Bulgarian writers and artists. She emphasized that the author is distinguished by her own style.
Some of the readers’ favorite books – “Notable Women of/for Bulgaria From Kera Tamara to Petya Dubarova”, “Playing with the Elements”, “Women in the April Uprising” were presented to the attendees, in addition to by the author herself, and visually on screen, which provided a good orientation to the volume and directions of Zografova’s work.
In the hall and on the screen, one could also see the books about Fanny Popova-Mutafova – life and suffering”, as well as “The Many-Faced Bulgarian” – about remarkable women from the Revival to the present day. Among the publications exhibited during the meeting were “The Cult of Yavorov” and “The Worlds of Yavorov”. Yavorov’s personality is also present in another book – a study by the author – “Famous, Forgotten, Forbidden”.
The writer spoke at length about her most significant research, the second part of which she is currently working on: “Chronicles of the Vazov Family”. The series is dedicated to the heirs of generals Georgi and Vladimir Vazov. She discovered archival documents that even the heirs were not familiar with. Thus, the author has restored for today’s generations a part of history that was almost forgotten. Zografova also presented her research on other prominent figures from Bulgarian cultural history and emphasized that the writer is a guardian of historical memory. Working with archives and documents is a mission with the aim of preserving it for generations.
Katya Zografova also focused on her latest book “Nezabrava”, in which she traces the lives of heroic women in folklore and literature. The book is a kind of collection of stories about personalities whose merits often remain in the shadows. Zografova also recalled the role of women in national struggles, presenting her book about their participation in the April Uprising. The author’s books have rich illustrative material, which increases interest in the publications. The Director of the Regional History Museum Tanya Todorova emphasized during the meeting that the museum is actively working to present the historical heritage of the region in an accessible way. One example of this is a restored recipe for Roman wine from the 5th century, discovered during archaeological research and implemented by museum specialists, as part of the initiatives to popularize the Roman past of Razgrad.
At the end of the meeting, Prof. Angelova PhD extended her greetings to the women of Razgrad on the occasion of the upcoming holiday of March 8. She wished them health, inspiration and confidence, emphasizing that it is they who preserve the traditions and pass them on to the next generations.
The writer signed autographs for her fans. The final highlight was performances by flutist Mirena Nikolova from the Razgrad Philharmonic Orchestra.
