Kapka Kassabova
Kapka Kassabova (b.1973, in Bulgarian Капка Касабова) is a poet and writer of travel, history, and fiction who grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria.[1] After leaving Bulgaria with her family as a teenager, she lived and studied in New Zealand for a number of years before moving to Scotland. [2]
Her debut poetry collection All roads lead to the sea won a NZ Montana Book Award and her debut novel Reconnaissance won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Asia Pacific. In 2008, Kassabova published the memoir Street Without a Name which was shortlisted for the Prix du livre europeen and which The Guardian called a "profound meditation on the depth of change triggered by the events of 1989 throughout eastern Europe".[3] Scotland on Sunday described it as ‘A memorable piece of acutely observed writing where events are relayed with a novelist’s eye. With its sharply humorous details of close family life and the evocative and sometimes almost spiritual portrayal of an era lost and a country changed forever, this book recalls the writings of Isabel Allende.’[4]
In 2011, she published the tango biography Twelve Minutes of Love, shortlisted for the Scottish Book Awards and hailed by The Independent as "an exquisitely crafted blend of travelogue, memoir, dance history, and some seriously good writing on the human condition." [1][5] The Scotsman said: 'Kassabova is that rare thing, an author who excels in every genre.'[6] and the New Zealand Listener wrote that ‘Kassabova’s poetry explores exile, disconnection and loss; her novels and travel writing are rich in insight, conjuring unsettling worlds. She brings these elements together in this exhilarating account of tango’s addictive character. With a neat twist, she ultimately exposes its illusions, locating its place in a journey that is both personal and universal.’[7]
Books
- All Roads Lead to the Sea, Auckland University Press 1997
- Reconnaissance, Penguin NZ 1999
- Someone Else's Life, Bloodaxe 2003
- Marti Friedlander by Leonard Bell, Introduction, AUP 2009
- Geography for the Lost, Bloodaxe 2007
- Street Without a Name, Portobello 2008
- Villa Pacifica, Penguin NZ/ Alma Books 2011
- Twelve Minutes of Love: a tango story, Portobello 2011
- Border: a journey to the edge of Europe, Granta 2017
References
- ^ New Zealand Book Council
- ^ Kapka Kassabova's website
- ^ Guardian Review July 05 2008
- ^ [Scotland on Sunday]
- ^ The Independent
- ^ Scotsman
- ^ [The NZ Listener]
External links
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