You were released from prison as part of a widespread amnesty for political prisoners. What do you remember?
On August 15, 1956 – I was in Varna Prison at the time. When I got out, I went to the sea. And as I looked at it, I thought about how I had written about these waves.
I had never seen the sea before. That was the first time I saw waves, yet I had written so vividly, so expressively about the wave. I even have a very characteristic verse: like a wave widowed on the farther shore. Can you imagine that: a wave becoming widowed on the farther shore – and returning…
What happened after you were released?
From the small prison – into the big one. The conviction – when I stepped outside, I said to myself: “Ah, it is the same as it was inside!”
I received liberation, but not freedom. This is what I had said and written back then about the Liberation of Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War as well – we received liberation, but we did not receive freedom. Because freedom has entirety, and it brings about the national spirit or the mission of a given individual. This is the great difference between liberation and freedom.
After that, when I got out, where was I to go to earn my living? Half a year later I had to go to Plovdiv. First, I took up basket-making. Then I made cobblestones, the kind people walk on in different cities. After that, I worked in various factories…
From the “Vaklush” Album – the extraordinary story of Vaklush Tolev, told through photographs, text, and calligraphy across 376 pages, as a continuation of the documentary film “Vaklush”