Banned in Soviet times, and shunned even by many native Belarusians as the language of peasants, the Belarusian language nevertheless always had many ardent champions.
The Belarusian language is for them at the very root of their native culture, and some of the country’s greatest writers wrote their best work in Belarusian. Partly as a result, their work remained little known outside – until legendary translator Vera Rich began her work.
Now the Hertfordshire Press publishing house (Great Britain), with the support of the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction (EBRD) and the participation of Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum, has published for the first time a unique collection of poems in English by Belarusian poets – Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala and Maxim Bagdanovich – with Vera Rich’s translations.
This collection, entitled “A POETIC TREASURY FROM BELARUS: A celebration of the life and work of Vera Rich,” (unique collection of poems in English by Belarusian poets – Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala and Maxim Bagdanovich – with Vera Rich’s translations) provides both the original verses in Belarusian language and Vera’s skillful translations.
The book is dedicated to the memory of Vera Rich and published with the participation of experts such as Jim Dingley, David Parry and Prof. V. Rahoisha. Book presentations took place in London, Brussels and Minsk in November 2019 - March 2020.
