Nikola Vaptsarov

A poet and revolutionary, Nikola Vaptsarov was born on December 7, 1909 in the small town of Bansko at the foot of Pirin Mountain. He grew in a family known for its social and political struggles. Vaptsarov built up his beliefs and personality under the influence of the revolutionary ideas and the work of Botev, Vazov and Yavorov. After graduating from school in Bansko, and later in Razlog, following the will of his father, Vaptsarov studied in the Marine and Machine-engineering school in Varna. There he wrote over 70 poems, impressions and pieces of prose. In 1932 Vaptsarov started working in the cardboard factory between the villages of Kocherinovo and Barakovo, initially as a stoker and later as a machine-operator. Vaptsarov never stopped writing poems soaked by faith in life and future. In May 1942 he was arrested because of his undermining activity against the German army. On July 23 he was sentenced to death. Slightly before hearing the sentence he wrote his last poems and gave them to his wife on her last visit. The same night, Vaptsarov was shot. The only collection Vaptsarov published was Motorni pesni (Motor Songs). Some of his most popular works are Vyara (Faith), Prolet (Spring), Dvuboy (Duel), Zavod (Factory), Proshtalno (On Parting), Borbata e bezmilostno zhestoka (The fight Is Hard and Pitiless). His poems were translated into over 30 languages. Posthumously Nikola Vaptsarov was awarded the International Peace Prize (1952).