Collected Poems of Lubena Nova. "This collection is divided into eight thematic sections: Pandora's Box, Loved and Beloved, Emblem Poetry, The Four Seasons, The Four Elements, Family, Castaways, Substances of Magic. Each of these frames journeys into different spaces that are both physical and mental, and often indistinguishably so. They range over both the interior and exterior life, and, again, that distinction is also uncertain, as one flows into the other. I don't intend to talk at all about what might be called the 'subjects' of these pieces. They speak for themselves, they tell us clearly enough what they are 'about', and in any case, they are so deeply personal that in many cases I would feel uncomfortable commenting on the sentiments they articulate. But irrespective of the particular subjects of these poems and of the various sections into which they are divided, from the intensely intimate to the more outward looking of 'The Castaways' group, they all fall into the category of poetry, and often within its most august traditions." - Professor Bruce Johnson
About the Author: Bulgarian-born Lubena Nova began singing and dancing on stage at the age of three, and by the age of thirteen she had her poetry published in the local newspaper. In addition to poetry, Lubena wrote some fantasy essays, which were published in collected works of Club Fantastica, a sci-fi group of her home city Pazardzhik. After graduating from the Sofia Music Academy (earlier called Sofia Music Conservatory) in the late 1980's, she began regularly performing in a wide range of styles including pop, jazz, ethnic-gypsy and operetta. In addition to performing in Bulgaria, she also toured in other countries including Norway, England, and Finland, where she moved permanently in the early 1990's. She was offered a place in the Turku Conservatory to study opera singing with Pia-Gun Anckar and later in Finnish National Opera with Riikka Hakola and Ritva-Lisa Korhonen. This training extended her technique and increased her range to nearly four octaves. In 1996 she won a competition in Turku for young performers, and performed as a soloist with the City Symphony Orchestra singing Puccini's Sola, perduta, abbandonata (Manon Lescaut) and Museta's arias (La Boheme). At that time she was also singing with the Finish National Opera Choir, and performing as a featured soloist with the jazz quartet Unlimited, at Savonlinna Opera Festivals. Lubena's poems (The Moon, The Wind, and Dream) were used the first time in music compositions in 1998 by classical composer, conductor and opera singer Matti Rankala. In 2010, at the suggestion of Australian jazz musician and academic Bruce Johnson, she teamed up with pianist/composer Hannu Hiltula who wrote compositions as settings for her poetry, a sample of which was recorded with their band Fig Fable on the CD Please, Do not pick the Fig!, which merged classical, jazz, folk and progressive rock. She followed this up with settings of her poetry written by guitarist/composer Ismo Savola in the band July Blue, recording the album Hair Spell, which extended the progressive and avant-garde elements, receiving high critical praise. They are currently working on a new album scheduled for completion in 2019. Some of Lubena's poetry has been translated into Bengali by the poet Moin and some of these poems are planned to be published in Bangladesh. The Fables of the Fig is Lubena's first published poetry book.