Poet Zyablik: Stikhi. [A Chaffinch Sings: Verses].: Translation from Bulgarian by Irina Tokmakova.

First and only edition.

These verses by a prominent Bulgarian children's author Assen Bossev (1913-1997) were translated by Irina Tokmakova (1929-2018), a talented writer of children's books, poet, playwright and wife of the illustrator Lev Tokmakov. She was a member of the Hans Christian Andersen Award and served on the IBBY Executive Committee.

The book was illustrated by the female graphic artist Marina (Marianna) Basmanova (born 1938). Her father Pavel Basmanov studied under K. Petrov-Vodkin and her mother Natalia was a prominent book illustrator (worked together). Marina studied under V. Sterligov, an avant-garde painter and former student of Kazimir Malevich. She is also well known as the partner of Joseph Brodsky. They were formally never married, but had one son. It's considered that the most powerful love poetry in Russian, Brodsky dedicated to her.


The book is from the children's collection of Inna Shmeleva (1929-2020), an artist, who studied under Ely Bielutin, the founder of The New Reality artistic academy. In 1962 Shmeleva participated in the 30th anniversary of the Moscow Union of Artist at the Central Exhibition Hall (Manège) which was severely criticized by Nikita Khrushchev. This event marked the end of the period called as the Khrushchev Thaw.


We couldn't trace any copy of this edition in USA or European libraries via OCLC.