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Books
The Ahr Valley of Compassion
" Diana Ivanova's book opens up a view of the potential that lies in our crisis-ridden society. Art and culture play an outstanding role here: the art of listening to one another and the culture of giving hope at the right time with a piano sonata in a seemingly hopeless situation. The energy of small gestures is the strength of Fragments from the Ahr Valley of Compassion."
Prof. Dr. Berthold Vogel, Göttingen, Georg August University
This book (Barton Verlag, 2023) was born out of a devastating flood disaster that I experienced firsthand. It shows how shared vulnerability can give rise to a deep emotional connection and a new culture of compassion. Across 89 short fragments—including my own poems and photographs—23 different people from the region share their voices, all of whom I interviewed for the podcast “89 Schritte” (89 Steps). “Das Ahrtal des Mitgefühls (The Ahr Valley of Compassion) is more than just a book about a flood disaster. It is a passionate appeal for empathy, solidarity, and the recognition of our shared humanity. Diana Ivanova succeeds in turning a catastrophe into a source of inspiration and a plea for a more compassionate togetherness. A deeply resonant and thought-provoking read that reaches far beyond the borders of the Ahr Valley.”
—Daniel Pietrzik, mediennerd.de, March 5, 2024
TRAUMAS AND MIRACLES
The book is conceived as a “collection of fragments,” documenting the portraits and intimate life stories of around 50 elderly individuals from northwestern Bulgaria.
It is the result of an intensive collaboration with the Canadian-Iranian photographer Babak Salari. The book garnered widespread acclaim across Europe. Starting in 2010, the accompanying photo and text exhibitions toured renowned galleries in Vienna, Munich, and Florence, as well as the National Art Gallery in Sofia. The release of the German edition coincided with two major exhibitions in the spring and summer of 2016 at Schloss Eichholz and the Citypension Bonn.
This large-format book featuring the wonderful frottages by Sonia Kovatcheva was pure joy.
A literary and artistic publication from 2015, this was a joint project with Sonia Kovatcheva and Kamelia Spassova. It was created during a residency at the artist house Villa Waldberta, in cooperation with the Munich Department of Arts and Culture. The book is bilingual (German and English). The poems written during this time became part of my poetry collection Basma y Gabardin, published in Bulgarian by Janet 45 (2013).
Behind Doors
The second book in my Cuban series, published in Spanish and English in 2012.
While the first volume, My Street. Cuban Stories, focused on life on the streets of Cuba and people’s relationships with their immediate surroundings, Behind Doors looks deeper into private spaces. The authors were invited by my Cuban friends (authors in the first book!) to write their personal stories—including, remarkably, stories written from inside prison. Some of these texts were later published in 2017 in the renowned US literary magazine Ninth Letter. The book was designed by Raycho Stanev, with valuable contributions and support from Martin Dietrich and Valia Carvalho.
My Street - Cuban Stories
My first Cuban book, published in three languages. A collaborative work with the Iranian-Canadian photographer Babak Salari.
What makes this book so unique is its radically subjective perspective. Ordinary Cubans—many of whom had never had any connection to literature before—describe and photograph their own streets. The renowned Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov (Time Shelter) wrote that while reading the book, one realizes that magic realism in Cuba is not just a literary device, but a simple, lived reality of the people in their everyday lives. In the Journal of Latin American Geography, the book was celebrated as a “wonderful portal into the human condition in Cuba.”
How to make a bell
In the village of Gorna Bela Rechka, the old church bell had been stolen. The elderly villagers deeply missed its familiar, comforting sound in their daily lives.
Driven by purely civic and human motives, we decided in 2007, together with the villagers, to cast a new bell and build a new bell tower. It was a profoundly emotional process. The book documents this socio-cultural experiment, gathering local voices and personal stories. It was celebrated as a “guidebook for understanding one’s own heritage.” For the book’s graphic design and visual concept, designer Raycho Stanev was awarded the Special Prize by the Union of Bulgarian Artists (UBA).
I lived Socialism
This book (2006) is considered Bulgaria’s first major participatory memory project dedicated to coming to terms with the country’s communist past.
The book is based on an online platform (spomeniteni.org) launched in March 2004. It was the first Eastern European website of its kind where ordinary people were invited to write down their personal, uncensored everyday memories of the socialist era in Bulgaria. There were four of us who initiated the project: the internationally acclaimed writer Georgi Gospodinov (winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize), psychiatrist Rumen Petrov, journalist Kalin Manolov, and myself.
In Bulgaria, the book became a major success and went through multiple reprints. It proved to be a vital document, particularly for younger generations who did not experience socialism firsthand, helping them understand the lives of their parents and grandparents. Although the original website unfortunately no longer exists today, the book remains a foundational and enduring work of collective Eastern European memory work.
"Basma i gabardin" is a book of poems written between 2011 and 2012, in Sofia and Munich. The illustrations in the book are by Anastasia Tonkova, painted especially for these poems in Munich. The book was published by Janet 45 Publishing House in November 2013. It received several nominations - for the national poetry prize "Ivan Nikolov "2013 and for the national prize "Memory" for 2013 - the year of Ivan Metodiev.
This is my third volume of poetry, published in 2013. Basma (calico) and Gabardine serve as metaphors for my parents—representing the delicate and the resilient aspects of human existence.
The poems in this collection were written between 2011 and 2013. A truly unique element of the book is the artwork by artist Anastasya Tonkova. These illustrations were not simply added after the fact; they were created specifically for this collection within the creative atmosphere of the Villa Waldberta artist residency near Munich. In Bulgaria, the book was nominated for two national literary awards—the “Ivan Nikolov” prize and the “Pamet” (Memory) prize—celebrated for its high literary merit and innovative approach at the intersection of poetry and memory work.
Second poetry book
A Guidebook For Lovers
Second poetry book (bilingual English and Bulgarian ) with paintings by Swiss Artist Eli Geiser
Published in 2003 by the Foundation for Bulgarian Literature, “A Guidebook for Lovers and Other Disciples” is a bilingual poetry collection translated into English by Zlatna Kostova. This is my second poetry book. The book features a creative collaboration with Swiss artist Eli Geiser, with whom we presented interdisciplinary exhibitions in Prague and Sofia, alongside the multimedia installation “Song of the East.” Renowned literary critic Marin Bodakov praised the collection as a courageous work addressing existential themes that move between prayer and gratitude.
