The Bulgarian for ‘I Love You’

A meditation on death, loss and legacy, Martina Mustafova's The Bulgarian for ‘I Love You’ is an exquisitely nuanced essay that brings together the death of her father from Covid-19, and the birth of her first daughter.

What does it mean for those you love to outlive you, or to outlive those you love? Mustafova's masterful essay draws a thread between generations—a bond of kinship and love that does not negate death and grief, but that nevertheless redeems life, even in the face of our loss.

作為一篇對死亡、失去與傳承的沉思，馬蒂娜·穆斯塔福娃的《“我愛你”的保加利亞語》是一篇細膩入微的散文，將她父親因新冠肺炎離世與她第一個女兒的誕生交織在一起。

所愛之人比你長壽，或是你比所愛之人活得更久，這究竟意味著什麼？穆斯塔福娃這篇精湛的散文在世代之間牽起一條線——一種親情與愛的紐帶，它並不否定死亡與哀傷，卻仍使生命獲得救贖，即便我們身處失去之中。

（英文版）

Martina Mustafova (www.martinamustafova.com) is a writer and cultural consultant, exploring psychology, collective and ancestral memory, intergenerational patterns, and cultural identity. Her work examines the interplay between the inner life and collective histories, with a particular focus on the roots of racism and social violence. She also co-runs The Sky and Earth Know, a platform dedicated to Romani culture.

Martina Mustafova（www.martinamustafova.com）是一位作家與文化顧問，探索心理學、集體與祖輩記憶、跨世代模式與文化認同。她的作品檢視內在生命與集體歷史之間的互動，特別著重於種族主義與社會暴力的根源。她也共同經營「The Sky and Earth Know」，這是一個致力於羅姆人文化的平台。