Slaveikov, Pencho Petkov

Born Apr. 27, 1866, in Triavna; died May 28, 1912, in Brunate, Italy. Bulgarian poet. Son of P. R. Slaveikov.

Slaveikov studied philosophy and literature in Leipzig from 1892 to 1898. He took an active part in literary life, in particular advocating closer ties with Western and Russian literature. Slaveikov was director of the People’s Theater in 1908 and 1909 and of the National Library in 1909 and 1910. Because of his criticism of the monarchy he was persecuted, and he died in exile. Slaveikov’s collections Epic Songs (1896–98), A Dream of Happiness (1906), and On the Isle of the Blessed (1910) contained nature, love, philosophic, and civic lyrics. He wrote moralistic and philosophic narrative poems and the epic The Bloody Song (1896–1913), devoted to the national liberation struggle. Slaveikov’s high literary level was expressed in his linguistic richness and in the depiction of his characters’ psychology. Some of his works were influenced by decadence, for example, Hymns on the Death of the Superman.