p. 109: A parody of the poem “Bulgaria” by Communist poet Georgi Dzhagarov (1925–1995).
p. 110: A line from the song “At Every Kilometer” (1969), the theme music from the Socialist-era propagandistic television series of the same name, which was the most widely viewed program in Bulgaria during the 20th century.
p. 117: A play on the Bulgarian word chlen, which can mean both “the male sex organ” and “a legal article,” as in the notorious Article One of Bulgaria’s socialist constitution: “The People’s Republic of Bulgaria is a socialist state, headed by the urban and rural Working Class. The leading power in society and the state is the Bulgarian Communist Party. The Bulgarian Communist Party leads the founding of a mature socialist society” (1971).
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Georgi Tenev, before penning the Vick Prize-winning novel Party Headquarters, had already published four books, founded the Triumviratus Art Group, hosted The Library television program about books, and written plays that have been performed in Germany, France, and Russia. He is also a screenwriter for film and TV.
Angela Rodel earned an MA in linguistics from UCLA and received a Fulbright Fellowship to study Bulgarian. In 2010, she won a PEN Translation Fund Grant for Georgi Tenev’s short story collection. She is one of the most prolific translators of Bulgarian literature working today.