Do not mention it, Karl. I think a book is the best gift in the world. 

I want to add Nijami Ganjavi is not persian , he was born in one of the Azerbaijan city called Ganja. That' s why his surname is Ganjavi. Yes, persian and kurdish people want to prove that he is their:)

Andi thank you for your long amazing post.  I am quite impressed with your knowledge of literature and the clarity of you description.  I did not have the time yet to research all this information you present in your post, but I will definately take a look and read more about the authors mentioned, within the coming week.  Again thank you so much for your post.

Authors:

Ivan Vazov - After Liberation, Bulgaria’s literary society blossomed, and poets and novelists began to work, meet and further the traditions of their genres. Writer Ivan Vazov, author of plays, poems and novels, penned the quintessential novelization of the Bulgarian struggle for liberation, Pod Igoto (Under the Yoke) in 1893.

Aleko Konstantinov - a journalist and satirical writer, worked in the same period, producing two crucial works of Bulgarian literature. One was Bay Ganyo, a series of short stories about a boorish, uncultured Bulgarian merchant’s misadventures in Western Europe. Based on a real person he encountered at the World Exhibition in Chicago in 1893, they became a cautionary tale and an ethical guide for Bulgarians travelling abroad. The other was Do Chicago i nazad (To Chicago and Back), an account of the author’s visit to America in the late 1893, including a wonderful description of the Niagara waterfalls. Konstantinov was assassinated by mistake at the age of 34, but his work had already steered Bulgarian society towards European integration.

Dimitar Dimov - his novels Tyutyun (“Tobacco”) and Osudeni dushi (“Doomed Souls”), although forcibly revised during the Communist Era, remain classics of Bulgarian literature.  

Valeri Petrov - Poet and the best bulgarian translator of Sheakspire has written dozens of poems, five fairy tales for children and four screenplays. Writer Nikolai Haitov and his 1967 book Divi razkazi (“Wild Stories”) was heavily influenced by Bulgarian village mythology, weaving the supernatural into the fabric of his stories.

Next recomendation will be Hristo Botev. His poems are incredible, especially for the time are written. Read one of them:
Patriot
No sacrifice he deems too small
For freedom or education
Self-sacrificing? Not at all.
He sacrifices the nation.
Good turns he does to young and old –
For a consideration.
He’s only human — why, his soul
He sells, cash down, to Satan.
A Christian of good repute,
He goes, not just at Christmas,
To church, for it’s beyond dispute
That God is good for business.
Good turns he does to one and all —
For a consideration.
He’s only human – why, he pawns
His wife to save his bacon.
The fellow has a heart of gold:
Over the poor he watches
But brothers, let the truth be told:
The wealth you make he snatches.
There’s nobody he will not help –
For a consideration.
He’s only human… His own flesh
He eats with approbation!
Hristo Botev, 1873

Hello :)

Congrats for the interesting topic! I would reccomend you as first some lyrics. I will post one of my favorite poems, translated in English. The author is Damian Damianov

TOWARDS YOURSELF

When you are in the darkest depths of hell,
when you are saddened and your luck is blown,
forget the burning coal of sadness to a ladder
and walk right out of there on your own.

When walking with no road ahead is crushing you,
surrounding you with four restraining walls
from all the shattered roads you once had walked onto,
build a brand new road, pursuit your goals.

When the world is fading in your eyes
and darkness slowly blurs your sight to black,
create a sun yourself and from its beams,
embrace the last one - it will take you back.

The mystery of life is blind and thorny,
it takes it all and crusifies our souls.
with all belongings lost yourself keep only,
'cause that's the only way to reach your goals!