The frontiers of the sublime extend into the far reaches of space in Georgi Gospodinov’s cosmic adventure starring archetypal astronauts Adam and Eve, Laika the dog and naturally, a Musca domestica or fruit fly. The Bulgarian author’s exercise in libretto writing takes the shape of a “giant poem” patterned after a hyper-saturated present where “information is everything/And everything is information…isn’t it?”. In answer, Gospodinov heads out of bounds, roving between Mars and Earth; voices, scales, valences of emotion. Mediated by camera cues and an insectoid chorus, Space Opera is a genre-collapsing work engaging an irreducible expanse of human and more-than-human experience on the cusp of seismic evolution.

Georgi Gospodinov transduces the psychic landscape of central and Eastern Europe through a literature of temporal diffusion and mythic sojourn. Gospodinov’s work encompasses poetry, installations and novels addressing modern philosophical tensions, such as Time Shelter, which received the 2023 International Booker Prize. He is an associate professor at the Institute of Literature in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Co-winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize for her translation of Georgi Gospodinov’s Time Shelter, Angela Rodel is a literary translator, actor, and musician who lives and works in Bulgaria. Originally from Minnesota, Rodel holds degrees from Yale and UCLA, and has received NEA and PEN translation grants.

Back cover photo: Tihomira Krumova