Valiantsin Akudovich

Valiantsin Akudovich (1950), Belarusian: Валянцін Акудовіч

Belarusian writer, philosopher and literary critic.

After having worked in a number of institutions that were far from literature, Akudovich entered the literary and philosophical arena in the 1990’s. His literary works usually present a combination of philosophical reflections and fiction. As a writer and a philosopher he is deeply concerned by the way a human being exists in the world and communicates with it. Akudovich is the author of such books as “I Don’t Exist. Reflections Between Ruins of Humanity” (1998), “To Destroy Paris” (2004), “Dialogues with God” (2006), “Code of Absence. Basics of Belarusian mentality”. Several works by Akudovich were published in the USA, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and other countries. His book “Dialogues with God” was translated into Polish (2008).

In 2012, his latest book called “Book about Nothing” was published. As the author described it, it is the culmination of his reflections started in the essay “I Don’t Exist”, where he contemplated about The Nothing and The Absent. In the novel, he addresses or even controverts all the previous philosophical tradition, from Parmenides to Heidegger and Sartre.

Akudovich received several awards, ranging from military medals to awards from the Belarusian PEN-Center and the Hlinyany Vyales award.

Ihar Babkou

Out of 7 books published by Ihar Babkou three won particular attention of the reading public from Belarus and from beyond. His first book of poetry “Solus Rex” received Hliniany Viales (a Belarusian Literary Award set by the Society of Free Literature Men ) back in 1994. His novel “Adam Klakotski and his Shadows” (2002) has been translated into Polish and was short-listed for Angelus Literary Award in 2009. In 2012 Ihar received Zalaty Apostraf Award (set by literary journal “Dzejaslou”) for the best prose publication over 2011. His second novel “Kvilinka” became the laureate of Gedroyc Literary Award this year. The site of the Award offers a review of the book as well abstracts from it, together with the recent information on the author.
Another relevant review of the novel “Khvilinka” (compared with Шклатара, 2013, a novel by Artur Klinau) by philosopher Maksim Zhbankou can be found here (In Belarusian).
Ihar Babkou’s text about Belarusian literature today in Hungarian Review (in English) is available here.
Reflections upon his recent five books by Jan Maksymiuk (In Belarusian).
Audio and video records of the author (Ihar Babkou reciting poetry).
His texts have been translated into Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian, German, English, and Hungarian. In 2008 two of his books were published in Polish – “Adam Klakocki” and “Krolewstwo Bialorus/ Kingdom of Belarus”

Uladzimir Niakliaeu

Uladzimir Niakliaeu (1946), Belarusian: Уладзімір Някляеў.

Poet, prose writer, politician. Holder of several state awards and literary awards. (1)

His poems are socially engaged to a large extent, but they do not lack lyrism and irony. In the recent years, he has released collections of poems: "Kon" (Кон,2010) and "Letters to Freedom" (Лісты да волі, 2011). The latter was written after Niakliaeu had spent over a month in jail after the presidential elections in 2010, in which he participated as one of the candidates.

At the same time, Niakliaeu is the author of two novels. A "Romance", as he himself called it, "Party Musician" (Лабух, 2003) is a story about a representant of the "creative class", the character that finds himself in a situation of choosing new life paths. The novel is characterized by a significant role of eroticism and is at the same time particularly politicized. The novel "Plain and Sirup Soda Machine" (Аўтамат з газіроўкай з сіропам і без, 2012) is an autobiographical work about Minsk in the 1960’s, life of the then teenagers and processes of self-identification formation in the period of the Khrushchev’s Thaw. For this novel, the author received the most important alternative literary prize in Belarus – Giedroyc Prize. Niakliaeu has also written several song lyrics.

Mikalai Charhinets

Mikalai Charhinets (1937), Belarusian: Мікалай Чаргінец, Russian: Николай Чергинец.

Charhinets is the head of The Union of Writers of Belarus, significant for its strongly loyal position towards the current Belarusian government. Besides his literary career, he is known for his political activities. (1)

Having worked for the criminal service for more than 20 years and participated in the war of Afghanistan, Charhinets mostly dedicates his literary works to detective genres with the main characters coming from the militia environment and other law enforcing authorities. He wrote several novels in Russian, among them – "The Investigation Continues" (Следствие продолжается, 1977), one of the earliest detective novels about the activities of major Vetrov; "The Order Number One" (Приказ № 1,1985), dedicated to the events of the pre-revolutionary Minsk, where M. Frunze came delegated by the Bolshevik party to carry out promotional activities; "Sons" (Сыновья, 1989), about the tragic events of the War in Afghanistan, presented from the point of view of young soldiers, as well as their parents, or even Afghanistan inhabitants; "The Mystery of the Oval Office" (Тайна овального кабинета, 2002), the storyline of which unfolds in Washington City, within its highest government circles; "You Have a Mission" (Вам - задание, 2004) – about the activities of militia in the war time, and other works.

Andrei Fedarenka

Andrei Fedarenka (1964), Belarussian: Андрэй Федарэнка, Russian: Андрей Федоренко,

Known mostly for his prose, Fedarenka started to publish at the end of 1980’s. (1)

His creative work is significant for its social and psychological topics, it is often linked to the post-Soviet life in Belarusian cities, villages. His novels depict crisis of moral values and a general social crisis, like in the novels "The Village" (Вёска, 1995), "The Time of Troubles, or XII Fantasies on the Same Topic" (Смута, альбоы XII фантазій на адну тэму, 1994). He also writes adventure novels, like "A Chippy Thaler" (Шчарбаты талер, 1999), the story about searching for a treasure Napoleon had left in Belarus, or "The Afghan Box" (Афганская шкатулка, 2002) that is also dedicated to the search of an artifact left in Belarus – an Afghan box. In 2012, a collection of Fedarenka’s works named "A Chain" (Ланцуг) was published. It consists of 6 novellas written in different periods of time, each trying to capture the spiritual world of a contemporary man.

Olga Gromyko

Olga Gromyko (1978), Belarusian: Вольга Грамыка, Russian: Ольга Громыко

O. Gromyko is among one of the best selling authors from Belarus. She writes novels of the fantasy genre in the Russian language and publishes mostly in Russian publishing houses (Blog of the author). A cycle of ironic fantasy novels about a witch named Volkha: "My Profession is a Witch" (Профессия: ведьма,2003), "Guardian Witch" (Ведьма-хранительница, 2003); "Chief Witch" (Верховная ведьма, 2004) and other have appeared under her name. In 2012, she released a book named "Space Ecologists" (Космоэколухи) about the "drivers" of spacecrafts. In 2014, she published a new volume of this novel series, titled "Space Psychologists" (Космопсихолухи). 

Gromyko holds several international awards in fantasy literature. (1) Fantasy worlds created by O. Gromyko are closely related to Slavic mythology and scenery of her works has many connections with Belarus.

Sviatlana Alexiyevich

Sviatlana Alexiyevich (1948), Belarusian: Святлана Алексіевіч, Russian: Светлана Алексиевич

The key points of her creative work form an intersection of fiction, journalistic and documentary genres, capturing memories of eyewitnesses. (1) Born in Ukraine, she writes predominantly in Russian. 

Her debut book was released in 1975. Alexiyevich's first documentary book "War's Unwomanly Face" (У войны не женское лицо, 1985) represents women's testimonies about World War II. It was published in numerous re-editions and over 2 million copies of it were sold. Later on her books like "The Chernobyl Prayer" (Чернобыльская молитва, 1997, in Belarusian Чарнобыльская малітва, 1999) was also released in numerous issues and all world languages (2). 

Recently, she has worked on an extensive cycle of documentary texts and memoirs about the life of a "Soviet man". The cycle was further called "The Voices of Utopia" (Голоса Утопии). The fifth part of the cycle titled "Secondhand Time" (Время секонд хэнд, 2013) reflects on the period after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Alexievich emigrated and lived in the Western Europe for a period of time, but returned back to Minsk in 2011. In 2013, she was awarded the "Prix Médicis essai" award and was considered one of the most potential laureates for the Nobel Prize for literature in 2013 but did not receive it in the end.

Ales Razanau

Ales Razanau (1947), Belarusian: Алесь Разанаў.

Razanau is one of the most important poets in contemporary Belarus, known also as a translator of the world literature to Belarusian. 

His name has been present in the field of Belarusian poetry since 1970’s. (1) 

In his creative poetry writing, he experiments with the form and the content to a large extent. His poems are marked by an extensive use of allegory, their complex figurative structures and philosophical meditation. In 2012, Razanau was rewarded for the publication of his "dotty" poems titled "That Much and This Much" (Столькі і Гэтулькі) and received the "Zalaty Apostraf" prize by the "Dziejaslou" journal.

The Razanau’s poems are also translated to Russian and Polish. In 2003, a collection of his poems in German titled "Wordtdichte" was published in Austria.

Two poems presented by the author.

Andrei Khadanovich

Andrei Khadanovich (1973), Belarusian: Андрэй Хадановіч

Known as one the most innovative Belarusian poets as well as a literary scientist, translator from French and Slavonic languages and a songwriter, Khadanovich is also the  head of the Belarusian PEN-center.

Poetry writings of Khadanovich are specific for their original character, the critics also pay attention to his experimentation with their form and style. Khadanovich likes to connect the "high" and the "low" genres. Besides that, he also experimented with the limerick genre and, in 2005, released a collection named "Countrymen, or Belarusian limericks" (Землякі, альбо Беларускія лімерыкі), where, with the use of the precise poetic form and absurd content, he presented an original view over the Belarusian cities and countryside. 10 collections of poetry writings were published under his name, among which a collection of intellectual and, at the same time, optimistic and accessible poetry named "Old Poems" (Старыя вершы, 2003), or a collection named after the "Letters From Under the Gallows" by Kastus Kalinouski, a national hero and a revolutionary, the "Letters From under the Blanket" (Лісты з-пад коўдры, 2004), as well as the collection of vers libres written in Berlin, named "Berlibres" (Berlibry, 2008) and others.

A poem presented by the author.

Viktar Martsinovich

Viktar Martsinovich (1977), Belarusian: Віктар Марціновіч, Russian: Виктор Мартинович. 

Prose writer, university teacher and journalist. (1)

In 2009, his anti-utopian novel "Paranoia" (Паранойя) written in Russian was released, drawing a great deal of the media attention as its sale was prohibited and it was withdrawn from the bookshops. The plot of the story develops at the background of Minsk – monitored by the omnipotent Ministry for State Security. The main character is a writer – Anatoliy who undergoes a personal crisis and publishes his works in "tamizdat".

Nowadays, Martsinovich is one of the "stars" of the internet literary and journalistic community. In 2011 – 2013, he published two other novels: "Cold South" (Сцюдзёны вырай) and Sphagnum (Сфагнум). In his novels, he actively uses elements of mass literature, considered by critics a post-modernist "game with a popular context".

Adam Hlobus

Adam Hlobus (1958), Belarusian: Адам Глобус

Poet, prose writer, artist. (1)

By the end of the 1980’s, he was one of the founders of an informal art group named "Тутэйшыя". He started to publish his works at the beginning of 1980’s . Hlobus is often referred to as a writer that "deflowered" the Belarusian literature when, as one of the first, he started to depict carnality and used obscene vocabulary. Probably, his most well-known work in the 1990’s was a collection of short stories "Demonocameron" (Дамавікамерон, 1994), in which the characters are mythological and folklore beings set in a contemporary context.

In the last decade, he continued his active work and released several books, such as a collection of sketches "Notepads" (Сшыткі, 2003), "the self-portrait novel in a family interior" – "The House" (Дом, 2005), a collection of essays, sketches about Belarusian culture and bibliographic reminiscences – "Play.by" (2009), and many others. In 2013, his book "Fairy Tales about Adults" (Казкі пра дарослых, 2013) got into the long-list of the Giedroyc prize.

Uladzimir Arlou

Uladzimir Arlou (1953), Belarusian: Уладзімір Арлоў

Arlou is a poet, prose writer and a historian. He published more than 20 books (1), out of which a short story "Rendezvous at manoeuvres" (Рандэву на манёўрах, 1992) could be mentioned as it forms a part of the Belarusian literature classes at the secondary schools. His works have mostly a lot to do with the history of Belarus that he tends to promote. Together with Z. Herasimovich, they published a successful album-book The Country Called Belarus (Краіна Беларусь) in 2003, using a popular way to describe the history of Belarus. The book was originally published in the Slovak "Kalligram" publishing house.

Arlou holds several state awards. In 1996, he got the F. Bahushevich Prize by the Belarusian PEN-center for the best historical prose.

Alherd Bakharevich

Alherd Bakharevich (1975), Belarusian: Альгерд Бахарэвіч.

Prose writer and translator (1), the "Novaia Europa" website labelled him "The writer of the year" in 2006. Between 2007–2013, he lived in Hamburg, and then came back to Minsk. 

Author of intellectual city prose, with the characteristic elements of a post-modernist game and intertextualism. A collection of several prose writings created between 1997–2001 appeared under the title "A Practical Guide to City Ruining" (Практычны дапаможнік па руйнаваньні гарадоў, 2002). His multi-layer "theatre" novel "The Damned Guests of the Capital"   (Праклятыя госьці сталіцы, 2008) offers a critical reflections on the contemporary Belarusian (political) reality. His novel, dated 2009, "A Magpie on the Gallows" (Сарока на шыбеніцы), described as "a hypnotic narration on a life of one girl, Veranika, nymphomaniac and narcissist, living in a country very similar to Belarus, working for the concentration camp administration", was translated into German. In 2012, he released a novel about one of the Minsk districts – "Shabany. The Story of a Disappearance" (Шабаны. Гісторыя аднаго зьнікненьня). In the novel, critics see the elements of a game with the tradition of Magical Realism (M. Pavić, J. Cortázar). The very same year, he also published a collection of essays "Bakharevich's 'Hamburg Rating'" (Гамбурскі рахунак Бахарэвіча). Through the essays he shares his opinion on the "classics" of the Belarusian literature.