{"id":134,"date":"2023-04-09T00:38:26","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T00:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/?page_id=134"},"modified":"2024-07-07T13:45:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-07T13:45:15","slug":"interview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"134\" class=\"elementor elementor-134\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-742486c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"742486c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ed476ff exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"ed476ff\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e8b8dfe exad-sticky-section-no exad-glass-effect-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"e8b8dfe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 25-07-2024 *\/\n.elementor-column .elementor-spacer-inner{height:var(--spacer-size)}.e-con{--container-widget-width:100%}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer{width:var(--container-widget-width,var(--spacer-size));--align-self:var(--container-widget-align-self,initial);--flex-shrink:0}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container{height:100%;width:100%}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer{height:100%}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer>.elementor-spacer-inner,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer>.elementor-widget-container>.elementor-spacer>.elementor-spacer-inner{height:var(--container-widget-height,var(--spacer-size))}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer.elementor-widget-empty,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer.elementor-widget-empty{position:relative;min-height:22px;min-width:22px}.e-con-inner>.elementor-widget-spacer.elementor-widget-empty .elementor-widget-empty-icon,.e-con>.elementor-widget-spacer.elementor-widget-empty .elementor-widget-empty-icon{position:absolute;top:0;bottom:0;left:0;right:0;margin:auto;padding:0;width:22px;height:22px}<\/style>\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d90f04c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"d90f04c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e39a81a exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"e39a81a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e1378d7 exad-sticky-section-no exad-glass-effect-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e1378d7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 25-07-2024 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Radio Interview by Stuart (Stu) Taylor) June 2016<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a3ca1b8 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"a3ca1b8\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-baa1d33 exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"baa1d33\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1cdae91 exad-sticky-section-no exad-glass-effect-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1cdae91\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 25-07-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>New York Book Festival Interview 2016<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Todor Bombov\u2019s science fiction short story Of Rats and Men was an honorable mention at the 2016 New York Book Festival. The festival caught up with the Bulgarian writer to catch up on the scene in his native country and discover his inspirations.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>NYBF:<\/strong>\u00a0What sparked your writing interest?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>TODOR BOMBOV:<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ve never thought to be a writer. I\u2019ve just ever loved the books. Still, in my early childish age, I loved the reading, maybe because I was very curious boy. In this, my childish age, I wrote my first verses. And when I began my studies in Varna\u2019s Higher Institute for National Economy, I made my first literary attempts in the poetry genre. I just felt the necessity to put on the white sheet all my thrills and agitations in my mind. But to write the \u201cRats\u201d story, it was spontaneous and unexpected.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>NYBF:<\/strong>\u00a0As noted, your novella talks about an attack by rats. Why that creature? Did you study them in order to paint a vivid picture of their attack?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>TB:<\/strong>\u00a0In 1990, I read an article in a magazine that said the Moscow subway\u2019s basements were conquered by enormous fierce rats. It gave me a shock. I was deeply impressed with this idea and it made me begin to ponder human existence. And then I began to study the rats. Indeed, I began to read all about rats. As it turned out, a fact slightly known, rats are the most intelligent creatures after man \u2013 before dogs and monkeys! Finally, I arrived at the conclusion that the human race as a dominant species on earth is not guaranteed an infinite span, but might be changed. In this connection, I\u2019d like to turn to all people and governments, to all corporations all over the world \u2013 don\u2019t make the air foul, don\u2019t pollute the water, the ground, the mountains and the oceans! Let the time of cleanness come \u2013 in the minds and deeds! Otherwise, the Rats come! I\u2019m serious. This menace is real!<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>NYBF:<\/strong>\u00a0Tell us about being a writer in your country. Is there a large community of them?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>TB:<\/strong>\u00a0Until 1990, there was a large community of writers in my country, Bulgaria, and they were united in a trade union, or rather something like a craft subordinated to the official totalitarian authority. They were court lackeys that glorified the ex-regime and the top nit in it. After 1990 until now, a quarter century later, the writers are not a large community \u2013 they are already neither large, nor a community! Being a writer in my country now \u2013 it is a hard occupation. To be a writer today in Bulgaria is a vocation! But maybe this is the eternal fate of the writer \u2013 no matter where and when.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>NYBF:<\/strong>\u00a0You mentioned that you are expanding the Rats story and working on something full-length. Tell us about that.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>TB:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes, I have an idea to expand the Rats story to a novel and I even created an outline for that. But now I\u2019m so busy with the printing of my second book, The Socialism. and at the same time the preparation of the third my book, HOMO COSMICUS. Because of that, I have no spare time to begin expanding the Rats story. Perhaps after 1.5 or 2 years, I could.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>NYBF:<\/strong>\u00a0Is science fiction going to be your main focus? Or do you have ambitions in other genres?<\/span> <br \/><\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>TB<\/strong>: In 1981, when I began my studies in Varna\u2019s Higher Institute for National Economy I doubted the socialist system in which I lived. Until the end of my studies in 1985, I had already begun writing the main work of my life, The Socialism, which is a philosophical, economical and political work and which will be published in a couple of weeks in the United States. So, writing sci-fi is not my underlying style and main focus. But I love so much of this genre. My science fiction is more science and less fiction. In this connection, as I mentioned above, after the forthcoming The Socialism, I prepare my next book \u2013 the novel HOMO COSMICUS, which is science fiction again, and will be published next year, I hope.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>NYBF:<\/strong>\u00a0Who are some writers you admire and why do you admire them? Any of their styles bleed into your work?<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>TB:<\/strong>\u00a0My favorite author in general is Marx \u2013 Charlemagne of the modern philosophy and social sciences! I admire him because of his profundity of thought, analytic mind and stigmatizing satire on the contemporary capitalistic world. Of course, here I must add Engels, the alter Ego of Marx, because they both are, in fact, one spirit in two bodies.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In belles lettres \u2013 the French writers of the Enlightenment \u2013 Moli\u00e8re and Voltaire, because of their wit, subtle irony and inimitable sense of humor; Jack London \u2013 because of his adventurous and spirit of freedom of America\u2019s pioneers who dared to blaze the trails in a wild, wild world; Dostoevsky and Bulgakov \u2013 because of their philisophical fiction.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In science fiction \u2013 Ray Bradbury, Stanislaw Lem, Arthur Clarke, Isaac Asimov- because their science fiction is a speculative fiction, in contrast to the great mass of modern decadent fables. Their sci-fi works wrestle with complex questions and give some true image of the future world. All these great writers irrigated my mind and spirit. But the one who left the deepest imprint on my writer\u2019s style is certainly Marx.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b717631 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"b717631\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-658827e exad-glass-effect-no exad-sticky-section-no\" data-id=\"658827e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6e59db7 exad-sticky-section-no exad-glass-effect-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"6e59db7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22ef325 exad-sticky-section-no exad-glass-effect-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"22ef325\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 25-07-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/sbpra.net\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1467\/2023\/04\/sbpsvg-removebg-preview.png\" class=\"elementor-animation-pulse-shrink attachment-large size-large wp-image-20\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1467\/2023\/04\/sbpsvg-removebg-preview.png 160w, https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1467\/2023\/04\/sbpsvg-removebg-preview-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Visit Strategic Book Publishing<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Radio Interview by Stuart (Stu) Taylor) June 2016 New York Book Festival Interview 2016 Todor Bombov\u2019s science fiction short story Of Rats and Men was an honorable mention at the 2016 New York Book Festival. The festival caught up with the Bulgarian writer to catch up on the scene in his native country and discover [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-134","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":364,"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/134\/revisions\/364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbpra.com\/todorbombov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}