site.btaBulgarian Writer Joanna Elmi Presents Debut Novel Translated in Romanian at Bucharest Book Fair

Bulgarian writer Joanna Elmi presented the Romanian translation of her novel Made of Guilt at the Bookfest International Book Fair in Bucharest on Saturday. At the start of the event, she told the audience two stories related with Romania. Elmi spent a large part of her childhood in Lom, a city on the Danube. 

“I grew up in a village with my grandfather, who could not stand it when there was no noise around him. He would turn on the radio, which did not pick up Bulgarian stations - it picked up Romanian ones. And my grandmother longed for peace and quiet. And she would say to him, ‘Are you out of your mind? Turn it off - you don’t understand a word of it anyway.’ And he would look at her with contempt and reply, 'I understand everything.’ So from the words I have heard about the novel, we have understood each other - we have understood everything,” said Elmi.

She also commented that every time there is a pro-democracy protest in Romania or something good happens, Bulgarians comment and say, “Well, when are we going to catch up with the Romanians?”

“And it is nice to hear Romanians say, ‘Well, when will we catch up with the Bulgarians?’ And perhaps the lesson is to look to one another and learn from one another. Because in this togetherness and sharing of our experiences, we are clearly stronger and have plenty to talk about,” the writer emphasized.

In response to a question from moderator Anda Docea, Elmi revealed that there were two reasons for writing her debut novel, Made of Guilt.

“I write because I am afraid I will forget. Because I realize very deeply, in my bones, that life is a gradual fading away, and that terrifies me. And because I love to reimagine life and picture what it would be like if... But the bigger reason was that, quite simply, I wanted to tell the story of my generation, as I imagined it. But also to tell it a story that has been forgotten and never made it into our textbooks. And only someone in their 20s could have such a grandiose, almost arrogant goal,” explained Elmi.

During the event, she expressed the view that, as a group, Bulgarians - and Romanians as well - are obsessed with the idea of leaving and returning.

“This includes theorizing that Bulgaria could have been different if so many people had not left. To this day, those who left are exploited politically, and there is constant debate over whether they have the right to be part of Bulgaria or not,” the author added.

In her words, a person can “emigrate” a thousand times without ever leaving their own village, and can be monstrously provincial even if they have traveled the entire world.

“I was amazed that someone half my age could write with such depth. And this vivid writing deserved to be translated into Romanian,” said the novel’s translator, Mariana Mangiulea Jatop. She told the audience that she had travelled the world, and America in particular, while translating Elmi’s novel, as she had been reading online about the various places and sites mentioned in the book.

“Authors do not thank their translators enough. A good translator, in a sense, repaints a picture. But they must repaint it with colours and hues that do not exist for the author. A picture from another world,” Elmi told Jatop.

When asked where she feels more at home, Elmi replied: “Home is the language we speak. Home is where we speak Bulgarian or Romanian. What can a person take with them besides their language? Almost nothing. The only other thing that makes a place home is the people we love. Personally, I feel at home in the mountains. Especially in the Northwestern Balkans. For now.”

The event was also attended by writers and journalists Veronica Niculescu, Alina Purcaru, and Mihaela Pascu-Oglinda, as well as Dan Croitoru, a member of the board of the Romanian Publishers Association. He once again emphasized that Bulgaria has done much more to promote Romanian literature and to translate and publish Romanian authors in Bulgaria than Romania has done for Bulgarian authors, and expressed hope that this would change.

Within the event, Elmi also signed books at the Bulgarian stand.

Bulgaria is this year's guest of honour at the International Book Fair in Bucharest. The event opened on June 3 and will run until June 7 at the Romexpo exhibition centre in the Romanian capital. Admission is free.