site.btaLeterapopoli Artistic Director Lavergne: Boutique Festival Blends Arts in Plovdiv

Plovdiv will host the second edition of the Leterapopoli World Literature Festival from 13 to 18 May 2024, with organizers aiming to fill the gap in the city's cultural calendar for a literary event of this scale and to introduce residents to leading contemporary writers from around the world, programme and artistic director Dostena Lavergne told BTA’s Ani Mihaylova on Tuesday.

Lavergne, a researcher, artist, poet, and lecturer, stated that the main goal is to give artists in Plovdiv more opportunities to connect with each other and collaborate for the benefit of the city’s cultural scene. Meetings with authors will continue after the festival week, with plans to hold workshops throughout the year in the future.

The spring edition of the festival programme will feature a special performance by students from the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts Asen Diamandiev, Plovdiv.

Among the writers taking part are two noted figures in Central and Latin American literature: the Argentine-Italian author Mempo Giardinelli and the Mexican writer Jorge Volpi.

Giardinelli has won multiple awards, including the Romulo Gallegos Prize, the Premio Nacional de Novela (Mexico), the Grandes Viajeros award, and the Manuel Rojas Ibero-American Narrative Award in Chile for his fiction. His works have been translated into 26 languages, including Bulgarian, with his book 9 Historias de Amor.

Volpi is also known as a leading name in contemporary Spanish-language literature and has been translated into Bulgarian with his novel In Search of Klingsor (1999), which won several prizes and marked the start of the so-called 20th Century Trilogy. The work, which follows an American scientist who joins the army at the end of World War II with the mission to discover the identity of Klingsor, a suspected high-ranking Nazi scientist, marked Volpi’s international breakthrough and has been published in twenty-five languages.

Among the participants is Yolanda Gonzalez, whose novel Oceanica, published by the French publisher Actes Sud, is known for telling the story from the perspective of the forces of nature, giving them their own voice.

Writers Jose Manuel Fajardo, Raquel Martinez-Gomez, and Isabel Klein will also take part in the festival, returning to Plovdiv after joining the pilot edition in October last year.

Lavergne spoke of the concept behind the festival, details about participants this year, and the importance of this format for Plovdiv.

Full text of the interview follows below:

What is the reason for holding the festival in Plovdiv, and why is it called Leterapopoli?

Plovdiv is not just my hometown; it is the place whose unique atmosphere I have always missed during the three decades I spent living abroad. Even when I was studying in Sofia, I kept returning to Plovdiv, feeling as if I was coming back to a magical place. Plovdiv has the spirit of a city of artists and writers.

It is also a city with a rich publishing tradition. Many writers from Plovdiv still live and work here today. With such a strong literary heritage, it would be a real shame not to have an international literature festival. We chose the name Leterapopoli to recall Plovdiv’s ancient name, Philippopolis, and to suggest that the festival is for everyone. In the name, we wanted to reflect accessibility and an educational mission: the idea of connecting with something greater than ourselves, while actively taking part in the conversation.

Why is it so important for Plovdiv to host a literary festival, and can the city compare itself to those major global cities renowned for their literary festivals?

It matters because Plovdiv has untapped potential. In recent years, the city’s population has grown rapidly, but this has not been matched by growth in its literary and cultural life. A festival like this could help Plovdiv reclaim its cultural identity. Plovdiv 2019 (European Capital of Culture) was already an important milestone, a time when the city compared itself to Europe and the world.

Can we stand among the others? Absolutely. I have participated in, organized, and attended many festivals worldwide, and many of the writers I invite are people I met at these events. I have long wanted to bring these connections together to benefit Bulgaria and Plovdiv. Our spirit, character, and tradition are unique; it would be a missed opportunity not to take part in the world’s cultural scene. This is not about competing, but about being able to take part as equal and interesting partners. The festival will give Plovdiv’s residents a sense of belonging both to world history and the present day.

What role do literary festivals play in fostering critical thinking among readers?

Of course, readers already have access to books in libraries and bookstores; anyone can pick up a book and engage with its content. However, a festival is different because it allows the public and authors to meet in person. Our guests—even though they are internationally recognized and highly honored—are very approachable. Last year’s event showed this clearly, and it inspired both our students and the broader audience.

As Socrates suggested long ago, such meetings act as a kind of intellectual midwifery, helping to bring forth something unique to that moment. A discussion that introduces something unfamiliar, challenging, or interesting can lead to the creation of something new—a third element that arises from the exchange. This is at the heart of what a festival is meant to offer.

Many of the authors participating in the festival have not been translated into Bulgarian.

That’s correct—this year, two of our guests have a book published in Bulgarian: In Search of Klingsor by the well-known Mexican author Jorge Volpi (Colibri Press), and 9 Historias de Amor by the Argentine author Mempo Giardinelli (Ciela Publishing).

Since so many works are still untranslated, we have partnered with a university press that is expanding its focus beyond academic titles to include fiction and poetry. Our goal is to start translating these authors and to build a long-term partnership. This is one of the ways our festival stands out: Leterapopoli is a boutique festival focused on creating literary and creative projects across different art forms, with literature at the center. Through workshops, masterclasses, and direct interaction, students and readers become actively involved in these projects.

For example, this year we will produce short video pieces—“Tracing Time”—in which writers follow historical routes through the city. Students will handle the filming, editing, and music, producing content to help promote Plovdiv on social media and in the global media space.

What does this year's edition offer for literature enthusiasts?

Among our guests is the Argentine-Italian writer Mempo Giardinelli. His foundation encourages young people and children to read, to retell stories, and to continue both the written and oral traditions of Latin America. As a person, he is remarkable; as a writer, outstanding; and as a journalist and teacher in Argentina, he is approachable, thoughtful, and sincere.

The festival will also feature Mexican author Jorge Volpi, who has just published a novel about imagination and how people constantly create the world—whether through truth or falsehood, but always with imagination. He is considered one of the leading Mexican writers today.

Another notable guest is the French-Spanish novelist Yolanda González, whose new book has just been published in France by one of the country’s leading publishers. In it, the forces of nature themselves find a voice.

This year, we are opening the festival with a creative production, Return to the Mystery—a performance that blends music and poetry, almost like a mystery play or, in French, an “oratorio,” with recitative, choir, and piano. It offers a modern retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice: an older Orpheus returns and asks, “Why didn’t I have trust? When did I lose Eurydice? When did I lose my soul?” Through his story, we ask ourselves where we lost touch with our own souls and how we might find them again. Isabelle Klein, a participant from last year, composed the music together with Nikolay Gurbanov, conductor of the AMDFA choir. Students take on the various roles, and Russi Chanev plays Orpheus. This is a truly collaborative work, created as a continuation of last year’s event.

The event will depart from the traditional format of a literary festival, once again integrating various genres. Does this combination of different arts facilitate the reach of quality literature to the public?

Yes. Take, for example, the combination of music and the spoken word, whether it is poetry or prose. Since ancient times, music has accompanied speech, and speech—when it is not used for simple communication—has a special, almost magical quality. Music enhances this quality, reaching listeners on a deeper emotional level. Today, especially for young people, it is important to combine forms, so they can discover how words can open up new spaces and possibilities.

Blending different art forms is completely natural. Isabelle Klein, for example, is a playwright, composer, and actress. Creative people often work in several fields, which only enriches their work. The short films I referred to also bring together audiovisual techniques, photography, and visual art.

Our partnership with AMDFA is essential for this. My work with Prof. Emilia Konstantinova—whom I have known for over twenty-five years—is key: she is vital for making these ideas a reality in the way we imagine, and she understands both the city’s arts scene and the academy itself.

AMDFA prepares students in arts marketing, fine art, graphic design, dance, and music—a wide range of arts that we have already started to bring together. In the future, we plan to work even more closely, so this mix can grow deeper and students can discover literature as part of their own creative work and experience.

About Dostena Lavergne

Dostena Lavergne was born in Plovdiv in 1974. She holds an MA in Contemporary History and a PhD in Political Anthropology from the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris. She has worked as a program director for international projects in literature, culture, and the arts in Greece (Rhodes), Egypt (Alexandria), Slovakia (Banská Štiavnica), and France (Strasbourg).

She is the author of five poetry collections and three stage works, the latest of which, Sonnets of the Butterfly, was performed in September 2020 on the chamber stage at Plovdiv Theatre. In addition to her work as a journalist, poet, and lecturer, she has developed as a visual artist, shaping her style through creative practice and art criticism in France. Her artworks are part of significant private and public collections. Since 2015, she has been represented by Galerie Studio Cui Cui (Paris), as well as Galeries AmphorA (2017) and Myriam Booghs (2021) in Strasbourg. She participated in the Winter Art Salon Strasbourg of Contemporary Art (2016, 2017), the Expo Wacken Exhibition Park (April 2018), and in ST-ART International Contemporary Art Fair in Strasbourg. Her solo exhibitions have been organized by public institutions, including the State Médiathèque De Seltz (March 2020) and the Council of Europe (June 2022).