Svetlana Alexievich does not eye emigration

Svetlana Alexievich at Taobuk press conference​
Svetlana Alexievich at Taobuk press conference​

Svetlana Alexievich is not going to stay in emigration. But she is worried that she will not be allowed to enter Belarus after returning from Europe.

The Nobel laureate in literature spoke about it during a press conference at the Italian book festival Taobuk. The festival organizers drew parallels between Alexievich and Dante, who was expelled from Florence after the publication of the "Divine Comedy" and spent the rest of his life away from home.

"I do not think that I am already in emigration. I came to visit you, to see my doctor in Berlin. Many people think that I will not be allowed into Belarus anymore; such things happen there. But I will try to live at home anyway," Svetlana Alexievich answered the question.

Svetlana Alexievich spends this weekend in Taormina, Italy, at the Taobuk book festival. Here she has been awarded the Taormina Award for Literary Excellence.