Spotlight On Writers
Miroslava Panayotova
- Where do you originate from?
I was born in Bulgaria – a small but incredibly beautiful Balkan country, blessed with diverse nature: high and low mountains, countless rivers, fertile plains, and a sea with wonderful beaches. It is a land with an ancient culture and spirituality, which has given writing to other nations and preserved a unique sensitivity to words. My hometown, Parvomay, is located in the heart of Thrace – an endless plain, whose expanse and light became part of me from childhood. I love the fields and the open space, the evening sunlight, but I also love the sea – its deep, mystical power that draws me and calms me. My roots are Thracian, but in my heart the sea always lives, with its calm blue and wise silence. I once loved to swim, to spend whole days on the beach, and to feel like a child of the sea.
- What do you cherish most about the place you call home?
For me, home is not just a space but a feeling of belonging, of deeply rooted security. Today I live in the city where I was born, and it gives me the sense that life has come full circle. Here I value most the comfort of my home, the quiet of familiar streets, the presence of childhood friends – those faces that remain unchanged in my mind. I enjoy the calm, which allows me to live without rushing, to observe and to think. I also love the proximity to Plovdiv – a city of art and antiquity, of people with warm smiles, a city where I always find inspiration. Between these two places I feel whole – between my roots and the urge to move. I have lived in other parts of Bulgaria, but I have always felt nostalgia for the fields.
Oh, Thrace –
favorite place on earth,
with its sky multi-chambered –
a light, summer violin!
- What ignites your creativity?
Most often, it is a strong feeling – delight, pain, indignation, or joy. Sometimes it is just a moment, a glance, or even a single word that echoes within me and seeks expression. Sometimes inspiration comes from a book that has touched me, or from a chance encounter after which a question lingers in me. In my stories, I search for answers about the meaning of human relationships – the invisible threads that connect or divide us. In adult fairy tales, I use imagination as a bridge between reality and what we cannot speak directly. Lately, I write more three-line poems – somewhat casually, yet I realize later that they have said more than my longer poems. I write in different styles and genres, which makes me wonder where I truly am and where I am best. I do not always have an answer. Writing is a way to organize the world inside me, to turn pain into understanding, and doubt into a story.
- Do you have a favorite word and could you incorporate it into a poetic phrase?
There are probably words that I often repeat in my poetry – connected to nature, time, and dreams. But perhaps my favorite word is when. It contains movement, transition, possibility. I write about things that have already happened or are yet to come, about moments when time stops and the heart remembers. If I were to include it in a poetic phrase, I would say:
“When the white spots from raindrops joyfully suck the earth,
when heavy rain drenches the field,
when frogs splash in puddles,
then you are like one tree
among many trees,
absorbing the rain.”
For me, “when” is a door to history – personal, human, eternal.
- What is your pet peeve?
I am annoyed by lies and lack of loyalty. I cannot accept people who adapt to every situation just to gain something, without regard for truth or for others. I cannot tolerate rudeness, vulgarity, or demonstrative indifference to culture. Aggression in all its forms. I am also annoyed by narrow-mindedness, when someone refuses to see beyond their own point of view. Over the years, I have learned to distance myself from these things, but not to accept them. What repels me most is malice and gossip – they destroy humanity. I think the world would be a better place if people simply tried to understand each other instead of competing.
- How would you describe the essence of Miroslava Panayotova?
It is difficult to define oneself, because one is always in motion. Over the years, I have changed – from a shy, reserved person who trusted their feelings unconditionally, I have become a more contemplative and balanced individual. The sensitivity to the world still lives in me, making me vulnerable, but it is also the source of my writing. I have a taste for travel, new technologies, discoveries about the stars, and inner universes. I am probably contradictory – a person of both feeling and reason. I try to find balance within myself – between vulnerability and strength, between feeling and understanding.
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