Every person is the center of the world, that's right - everyone; and the world is valuable precisely because it is full of such centers.
Elias Canetti was born in Ruse on July 25, 1905, to Jacques Canetti and Matilda Arditi. His mother tongue was Ladin. His father's family, which was Sephardic, moved from Edirne to Ruse in the 19th century, where its representatives developed a successful commercial business. His mother was from the Sephardic Arditi family, which was among the founders of the Jewish colony in Ruse in the late 18th century. His younger brothers were the music producer Jacques Canetti and the doctor Georges Canetti. He spent his childhood in Ruse. The family moved (1911) to Manchester, where his father joined his brothers-in-law's business. His father died suddenly in 1912. The Canetti family moved to Lausanne and then to Vienna. Elias learned German, and by that time, he already spoke Bulgarian, English, and French. The family then moved first to Zurich (1916–1921) and then, by 1924, to Frankfurt, where he finished high school. In 1924, he began studying chemistry at the University of Vienna and graduated with a doctorate in 1929. After Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany in 193,8 and the persecution of Jews began, Canetti left for London via Paris and settled in England. Although a German-speaking author, Canetti lived in Britain (obtaining citizenship in 1952) until the 1970s. He spent the last 20 years of his life mainly in Zurich, where he wrote his autobiography (its first volume is entitled "The Saved Language").
Having taken to London his visions from his childhood in Ruse on the Danube and his youthful experiences, mainly in Vienna, he set out to make sense of human existence, the problems of power, mass movements, death, madness - thus in London he began working on his philosophical work "Mass and Power", his opus magnum, which he completed only in 1960.
In 1981, Elias Canetti received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his entire body of work, characterized by foresight, ideological richness, and artistic power. He is the only Nobel Prize winner to date who was born in Bulgaria.
His words are famous: "Everything I experienced later had already happened to me in Ruschuk."
Significant works from his late period are the notes "The Province of Man", the characterological studies modeled on Theophrastus' "The Eavesdropper", the essay collection "The Conscience of Words", the autobiographical books "The Saved Language", "Torch in the Ear" and "Game with Eyes" and the notes "The Secret Heart of the Clock".
On August 14, 1994, Elias Canetti passed away in Zurich, leaving behind a substantial body of work translated into over 25 languages. In honor of the writer, his hometown of Ruse established the national literary award "Elias Canetti" in 2005.
In Ruse, everyone can touch Elias Canetti. Walking around the city, you can visit:
Canetti's birthplace house, located at 13 General Gurko Street. It is part of the historical complex "Elias Canetti's Birthplace" - a group cultural monument of national importance. This complex has three buildings - "Grandpa Canetti's House", where the Nobel Prize winner's grandfather, Elias Avram Canetti, lived, and a twin building with two elements - "Elias Canetti's Birthplace" and "Aunt Sophie's House". On Gurko Street is also the house of Solomon Rosanes. Elias Canetti's maternal grandmother is from the Rosanes family. In the 19th century, the Rosanes played a major role in the development of the Jewish community in our country.
Walking through the center of the city of Ruse - Svoboda Square, you will also visit the Austrian Elias Canetti Library, which is located in the Revenue Building (the Theater building).
Don't miss visiting the Canetti Trading House. Canetti Trading House is the trading house of Elias Avram Canetti, grandfather of the Nobel Prize laureate for literature, Elias Canetti. It was built in 1898 by the Ruse architect Negohos Bedrosyan. It is located near the port, where goods are loaded and unloaded. The building is at 12 Slavyanska Street and is now managed by the Elias Canetti International Society. The house has been declared a cultural monument, and every month it is a place where culture, theater, and literature are celebrated and concerts are held.
An important stop in honor of the writer is his bust monument, which was unveiled on the square of the same name on July 25, 2015, on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the birth of the Nobel laureate in literature. The monument is the work of the sculptor Georgi Chapkanov-Chapa. One of the writer's hands is leaning on several books; he is writing with the other, and an owl, which is a symbol of wisdom, is perched on his shoulder. Every year on July 25, the people of Ruse bring flowers here in honor of Elias Canetti.
And anyone who wants to experience his work can visit the Lyuben Karavelov Regional Library. Here are some of the books by Elias Canetti that you can find in the Ruse library: "Wedding" (drama), Works: "Notes 1942 - 1985: The Province of Man; The Secret Heart of the Clock", Works: "Notes 1954 - 1993: Torture of Flies; A Hampstead Gadget, Posthumously Published Notes", "The Blinding", "The Eavesdropper Fifty Characters", "The Hearsayer of the Century", "The Province of Man", "The Saved Language The Story of a Childhood", "Spasms of Words", "The Secret Heart of the Clock Notes 1973 - 1985", "Torture of Flies", "Parties During Wartime: The Years in England", "Torch in the Ear The Story of a Life 1921-1931", "Game with Eyes The Story of a Life 1931-1937', 'Mass and Power'.
