Charity Lit
A cryptic invitation to Peroto for a charitable reading on Sunday night.
One looks up Peroto (the Quill), a literary club in the National Palace of Culture, apparently known to everyone else. One braces a particularly nasty weather. One finds it all well worth it.
The cause is noble, fundraising for the "Children with Disabilities" foundation. The turnout is spectacular. Students, their bigger sisters, aunts, artsy kibitzers. A commendable sample of Bulgarian authors take the stage.
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Georgi Gospodinov reads the one amusing essay from Physics of Sadness. Alec Popov shares a New York episode from his revamped Black Box. Alexander Shpatov ACS '04 raps the intro to his Live from Sofia. Dena Popova ACS '06 brings tears to our eye with the last thoughts of a dying dog. Her father Deyan Enev dazzles with a lyrical portrait of the last poet. Ivan Landzhev's transcendent poetry, Blagovesta Pugyova's sincere plea to our humanity, Ivan Dimitrov's anecdote to the power of words that brings the house down, and then Zahari Karabashliev's choice: he gives the audience the option of choosing among Zahari Stoyanov's Notes on Bulgarian Insurgencies, Maya Sloan's High Before Homeroom, or his own 18% Grey. The crowd picks Sloan. Amen for discerning audiences! |
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The evening ends in a flurry of book buying and autograph collecting. It is another victory of a good cause, young charitable spirit, and cozy memories from Peroto. Over the course of two hours the weather outside has gotten milder.
