Anastasiya Stoeva

- Bulgaria -

Anastasiya Stoeva is а poet, critic, illustrator and designer based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Studied animation at New Bulgarian University. Regularly participates in poetry festivals, readings and initiatives such as the Sofia Metaphors festival, the poetic theatre performance “Actors v.s. Poets” and the Poetry Conference in Koprivshtitsa, held by the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation. Two-time winner of the National Literary Competition “Petya Dubarova”. Anastasiya’s first poetry book “Uncommitted Crimes” (Scribens, 2024) was presented with the “Damyan Damyanov” national award for best debut. 

 

Writes poetry, short stories, articles, reviews and scripts, some of which have been published on various platforms, including Ninth Letter, Interpret, Cineuropa, Zippy Frames, Eye for Film and others. Attended several workshops for film criticism, including Talent Press at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and was part of the Young FIPRESCI Jury at the 40th Warsaw Film Festival, 2024. 

 

 


If you’ve had the good fortune of attending a poetry reading by Anastasiya Stoeva, you’ve probably heard one of the most emblematic stories connected to her work – how, as a very young child, her parents once gave her a matchstick to play with. When the match burned out, she burst into tears because she wanted it to be lit again. She didn’t want a new, different match – but the same one, restored to what it had been before.

 

That deep sense of frustration – yet also a quiet acceptance – of time’s irreversible passing runs through Anastasiya Stoeva’s debut poetry collection, Uncommitted Crimes. In just 27 poems, she unfolds a striking concept of time and how we as humans experience it. As you read, you’ll feel disappointment, anger, regret for what has irreversibly passed. But also a quiet thrill in realizing that this transience, this constant motion and change, might be what gives life its meaning.

 

“It is riveting that at such a young age Anastasiya not only knows what her lyrical subject feels but also knows how to express it. At first glance she does whatever she wants with her words and doesn’t follow any conventions”, comments Bulgarian poet and editor Kamelia Kondova. Really, beyond its powerful concept, the book stands out for its remarkable style. Anastasiya Stoeva writes with sweep and confidence, in a rich and textured language full of words that don’t come easily to mind in everyday speech. Her poetry is filled with vivid imagery – some slightly eerie, some playful and witty, and some leaning toward the absurd. For example, who would think to look up the 55th meridian on Google Maps? In Uncommitted Crimes Stoeva hints to what awaits you there.

 

Right after her debut, Stoeva began work on a new manuscript, further developing her distinctive voice – bold, unpredictable, with sharp, gut-punching endings. In the poems written after Uncommitted Crimes, she seems to have closed the chapter on the passing of time and turned toward new terrain: the relationship between people and their memories, the process of growing up and the traces of childhood that remain, our connection to nature and environmental concerns, etc. There’s also a strong narrative thread in her poetry, with each poem telling its own story.

 

“Childhood is probably the only period in human life when time flows almost too slowly. We are in a rush to grow up, in a rush to find out what we carry inside and to release ourselves from the grownups’ control by becoming one of them. In her poems Anastasiya Stoeva captures this exact instance when these tasks are completed. But meanwhile time has transformed – from a slow and distracted companion into a warden, chronometer in hand”, comments poet Kristin Dimitrova. 

 

The struggle to understand who you are and how your existence might matter in a world that feels more and more devoid of meaning – that’s the heart of her poetic journey. In these poems, the human being is a puzzle – made up of childhood memories, friendships, family dynamics, coping mechanisms for the dark, obsessive, self-destructive thoughts, even objects one finds on the street. A puzzle that forms a different image every time you try to piece it together. A suitcase that has to be carefully packed item by item.

 

Each of Anastasiya Stoeva’s poems is a journey – an experience of something extraordinary revealed within the everyday. And when the journey ends, you’re left with the quiet, powerful sense that you’ve arrived exactly where you were meant to be.

 

 

By Katerina Vasileva

 
More about the poet

Poetry

  1. Self-portrait / Автопортрет

  2. At a Love’s Length / На една любов разстояние

  3. Solar Flare / Слънчево изригване

  4. Uno Reverse / Uno Reverse

  5. At Home / Вкъщи

  6. Time Glimpsed / Проблясък време