“Disloyal” writers to be crossed out from Belarus textbooks?
The new wave of rumors burst out on February 9, when competent sources said Mikalaj Chagrynets, the chairman of the Union of Writers of Belarus had a list on his desk with the names of those to have no place in the Belarusian literature of the 20th century.
Poet Henadz Buraukin links the reports with the complaints about the old textbooks circulated among the relevant government agencies by the pro-government writer Georgij Marchuk. The latter allegedly said the books did not reflect the contemporary Belarusian literature in the right way.
“We heard those rumors. We also heard that the writings by Mikalaj Chagrynets were to be included in the high-school syllabus for the Russian literature...,” Henadz Buraukin told our radio.
The expected changes in the literature curriculum and in the reading-books are definitely associated with the recent change of rein in the literary community in this country. However, Mikalaj Chagrynets, the chairman of the pro-government writers’ union, denies his part in the editing of the school textbooks.
ERB: “Is there a possibility that the names of Baradulin, Hilevich, Niakliajeu, Zakonnikau would disappear from the school reading-books?”
Charginets: “Frankly, you are asking about an issue that I did not deal with. I object to excluding certain names on the ‘friendly-foe’ principle. If people read his or her workings, why should they be excluded? Let them continue being published.”
Mikalaj Ivanavich mentioned the friendly-foe principle himself, without my prompting. Clearly, whether they want it or not, they would not officially use this principle to edit the books. But, excluding the names of writers that do not meet the required quality is another story.
Everyone can offend a writer, and it does not matter who exactly is to play this role. Poet Henadz Buraukin gives a fresh example of how the Belarusian literature can do without some bright representatives, including him, the winner of the State Literature Award of the Belarusian Socialist Soviet Republic.
“Recently, I saw the expensively published book “Mother, mommy” at a book fair in Minsk. It contained no poems by Ryhor Baradulin and Nil Hilevich, although they are the people’s poets, the only ones that are still alive in Belarus.
It had no poems by Uladzimir Niakliajeu and Siargej Zakonnikau. It did not have my poems, yet it used my quote on the cover.
I have a song about the mother, which is still studied at school. This song have words “Mother, mommy//My dear!”, Buraukin said.
Viktar Shnip, who is close to the authorities, compiled the collection, which Henadz Buraukin told us about. Henadz Mikalajevich does not understand how Viktar Anatoljevich is going to look into the eyes of Ryhor Ivanavich and other, whose poems have been left out of the book.
It is not clear how the people that cut the special literature courses at the Philology Department of the Belarus State University by crossing out the names of “foe” writers, are going to look into the eyes of their own children. But, these are rather rhetorical than acute questions.
If the literary community is going to be divided into the official and underground, those responsible should better try to avoid the eyes of the “foe” writers.
Photo by www.nlb.by
