Tzvetan Stoyanov and the Bulgarian Reception of Walt Whitman: Translation and Reception Series

Abstract

The article examines the Bulgarian reception of Walt Whitman by focusing on the translation and critical work of Tzvetan Stoyanov. The theoretical framework is based on Marta Skwara’s concepts of “translation series,” “reception series,” and “textualization,” which allow us to trace the dynamics of Whitman’s texts in the national context. The emphasis falls on Stoyanov’s translations of “Leaves of Grass” (1965), which combine humanistic and philosophical pathos with the ideological requirements of the socialist era. A comparison with Vladimir Svintila’s later translations reveals parallel translation series – canonizing (Stoyanov) and transgressive (Svintila). The analysis shows how translations function not only as linguistic transformations, but also as cultural and critical gestures that influence the poetic explorations of the 1960s and later literary debates in Bulgaria. In this way, the article reflects on the role of the translator as a cultural mediator and strategist of the national reception of world literature.