Press play on Sofia’s literary jukebox
Hear contemporary Bulgarian poets read their own work among the trees.
Photography: Yana Lozeva
Whatever comes to mind when you hear the word “jukebox”, literature probably isn’t the first thing.
Yet Sofia’s Literary Jukebox is exactly that. Take a seat among the trees in the Military Academy Park, press a button and listen as contemporary Bulgarian writing mingles with birdsong. Created by the Read Sofia Foundation, the sound installation brings together work for adults and children by 20 authors. They include Anna Lazarova, Galina Nikolova, Georgi Gospodinov, Ivan Landzhev, Krasimira Dzhisova, Marin Bodakov, Maria Kalinova, Mirela Ivanova, Nadezhda Radulova, Nikola Petrov, Petar Chuhov, Silvia Choleva, Stefan Ivanov and Tsocho Boyadzhiev. The recordings are in Bulgarian, but the idea is wonderfully universal: literature belongs out in the city, within everyone’s reach.
The installation’s original launch programme, dated 20 June 2026, included a children’s literary jukebox session and
a special edition of Actors versus Poets.
For 11 years, the Read Sofia Foundation has worked to bring the city and literature together, finding new ways for people to encounter writing, sometimes unexpectedly and entirely by chance. The jukebox was conceived as a lasting addition to the Military Academy Park. Alongside the letter-shaped benches of the Hidden Letters project, it offers a place for reading and listening to poetry, meeting friends, finding inspiration and making room for literary events.
It isn’t every day you get this close to a poem:
hearing it in the voice of the person who wrote it. Here, among the trees, literature has found a peaceful home in the heart of Sofia. All it takes is the touch of a button.
The bestselling books at the 2026 Spring Book Fair
What’s happening in the city? Follow GoGuide on Instagram to hear about it first.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for a closer look at the city, and a wider view.
