“You'll never live to be as old as me,", he said. "Whatever you think of doing, I've already done it. Wherever you think of going, I've already been and returned. And it was nothing special.” — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
Helpful to me over the years was some of Ernest Hemingway's writing, for example A Farewell to Arms. You have characters who speak Italian… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
The clash of religion. We've had to coexist for hundreds of years in Bulgaria, in the Balkans, and we still don't get along. It's… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
I don't find English restrictive, but it brings a level of discipline to my writing that I wouldn't have in Bulgarian. My control of… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
I'm interested in the way our world is defined by language, the living word. How restrained we are by the concept of language, but… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
I have done literary translation because the University of Arkansas, where I did my MFA, was program of creative writing and translation, and it's… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
When I was writing in Bulgarian, I could hide behind beautiful prose. — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
“Of course she loved the komita more -- he must have been her sweetheart, her first big love. Most likely, they made plans together,… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
“You'll never live to be as old as me,", he said. "Whatever you think of doing, I've already done it. Wherever you think of… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
I'm a big believer in the collective unconscious. The idea that there is a deep connection between all of us that goes back to… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
One of the things people often say about America is that it's a such a young country, relatively, and its problem - Europeans say… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
All these wars, all these territories. For example, Macedonia is a disputed territory, and there are people directly to the west of Bulgaria who… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
The problem is we bear grudges that go a thousand years into the past. Really, I could find people who begrudge the Greeks for… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
I was really interested in the ritual of fire dancing. I saw it when I was a kid. My parents took me to the… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
In Bulgarian I am much more flowery, the sentences are wilder. In English out of necessity I try to be clear and disciplined. I… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
I never wanted to write about Bulgaria. When I was still living there I did my absolute best to never write a story with… — Miroslav Penkov Copy Share Image
