Strashimirov, Anton Todorov

Born June 15, 1872, in Varna; died Dec. 7, 1937, in Sofia. Bulgarian writer.

After graduating from an agricultural school, Strashimirov worked as a village teacher and a civil servant. He contributed to various Social Democratic publications, propagandizing socialism. He published his first works in 1899. In his collection of short stories Laughter and Tears (1897), Strashimirov protested against the poverty and lack of rights of Bulgarian peasants. His socio-psychological novels Time of Troubles (1899) and Autumn Days (1902) exhibit strong moralistic tendencies. His drama The Vampire (1902) and his comedy The Mother-in-law (1906) were significant contributions to Bulgaria’s dramatic repertoire. During the Second Balkan War (1913) and World War 1 (1914–18), Strashimirov sided with the nationalists. His novels Crossroads (1919) and Whirlwind (1922) are concerned with the fate of the intelligentsia.

After the September antifascist uprising of 1923, Strashimirov entered a new stage in his literary career. In 1926 and 1927 he published the literary weekly Vedrina (The Crisp Air), in which he sided with the Communists in defense of the victims of the White terror. In the novel The Round Dance (1926) he utilized elements of the grotesque and the lampoon to expose the ruling circles that suppressed the uprising. His unfinished novel Slaves (parts 1–2, 1929–30) deals with the national liberation movement and the historical region of Macedonia in the early 20th century.