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Founded in 1922 after an agreement between the French and Bulgarian governments, the French Institute in Sofia, opened the same year by the Minister of Public Instruction at the time, Mr. Omarcevski, introduced a new element of political support to the French culture and its institutions in Bulgaria compared to the first French Institutes, created at the beginning of the century. On the other hand, this Institute has established itself as the almost essential intermediary between the University of Sofia and the French universities at that time, with a significant contribution to the development of the Francophonie in Bulgaria, which brings it closer to its predecessors in Florence and Athens. The Sofia Institute has continued to develop. It is far from being a simple instrument for disseminating French culture in Bulgaria. In view of its organization and its historical operation, this institution seems to be, since 1937 and still today, a good example, in the spirit and according to the conception of perspective of the contemporary French Institute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The editorial adventure of "Écrits Inédits" ("Unpublished Writings") ended with the publication, in Bulgaria, by Potaynitche editions, of a last essay on poetry, върху поезията, by Lubomir Guentchev. Ten titles had been published previously, in France, by Rafael de Surtis editions, between 2003 and 2020, in the collection of "Écrits Inédits" ("Unpublished Writings") by this Bulgarian poet condemned to silence and oblivion during the time of totalitarianism in Bulgaria. This author was however a very active translator, from Bulgarian into French and from French, as well as from German, into Bulgarian. He was also a great poet, in Bulgarian and in French, in the secret of his revolt. He left several lyrical dramas and essays on theater and poetry. Poetic creation was his profound vocation. The adventure of publishing his "Écrits Inédits" is a tribute to his creative sensibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to better envisage the penetration of French language and culture in Wallachia and Moldavia, a phenomenon that marked Romanian society's entry into modernity from the early 18th century until the first decades of the 19th century, one should refer to the cultural impact of the Phanariotes' reigns in the Romanian Principalities. The Francophonie of these Greek noblemen from Constantinople, who acted as dragomans and councilors of the sultan (allowing them, in turn, to be named reigning princes in Bucharest and Jassy), quickly became a model to the entirety of the Moldo-Wallachian high society. During their reigns, the educational institutions from the two capitals already taught French in their programs. Readings and translations from French authors increased in number, as French became not only the language of culture, but also the language of diplomacy. In the early 19th century, the Francophonie of the upper classes acted as a linguistic passport in the long process of their Europeanisation and, consequently, it facilitated the modernization of the Romanian society in its entirety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lubomir Guentchev's work holds a special place in Bulgarian literature and in 20th century French-speaking European literature. This author was born on November 26, 1907 in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. He died on August 28, 1981 in Plovdiv. He has always lived in Bulgaria. He has never been to France. Yet he left a work written in a remarkable French language. He also wrote in Bulgarian. In total, in several stages, a collection of seventy-six manuscripts, left in French and Bulgarian by Lubomir Guentchev, was found between 1999 and 2005, whose proofing was completed in 2020. Ten volumes of his Écrits inédits ("Unpublished Writings") have been published in France since 2003. How does this unique work appear? How were these manuscripts analyzed? What finds have been made? What about the translations, poetic creations and lyrical dramas those constitute the material?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lubomir Guentchev's work holds a special place in Bulgarian literature and in 20th century French-speaking European literature. This author was born on November 26, 1907 in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria. He died on August 28, 1981 in Plovdiv. He has always lived in Bulgaria. He has never been to France. Yet he left a work written in a remarkable French language. He also wrote in Bulgarian. In total, in several stages, a collection of seventy-six manuscripts, left in French and Bulgarian by Lubomir Guentchev, was found between 1999 and 2005, whose proofing was completed in 2020. Ten volumes of his Écrits inédits ("Unpublished Writings") have been published in France since 2003. How does this unique work appear? How were these manuscripts analyzed? What finds have been made? What about the translations, poetic creations and lyrical dramas those constitute the material? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]