by Michał Rykaŭ and Emily Laxton
Music by Nina Gordon
Fragment from the poem “The New Land” by Yakub Kolas
Philip-tide. Then St Nicholas.
More merrily the days now pass.
For thought the winter presses harshly,
And its dread chill rages vastly
Like some wild and savage revel.
And the wind howls and whistles ever
Like clarinet or bagpipe wailing
At some monstrous banquet playing
Yet eyes of distances gleam brightly,
And their garments glisten whitely.
Beauty dwells in those winters chilly,
And in the dead-white of their kilims
That hang and shimmer as with crystals.
Over the dumbstruck forests glistening,
When frost on fiery throne is seated,
With tapestries all crimson-bleeding,
And o’er the world his hands he raises,
Quietly enchanting and embracing
Or when the blizzard swells in power,
And winds wax stronger with snow-showers,
And all things tremble in white whirlwind…
What freedom’s there in that bold swirling!
It’s your hour, winter, revel, larking!
Soon Candlemas, the half-way mark, comes.
The warmth will start to blow you from us,
Bright sun by day begin to warm us.
Translated by Vera Rich
In this adventurous poetic treasury, three remarkable wordsmiths from Belarus are further introduced to specialists and general anglophone readers alike. A feat only realisable, possibly, through the outstanding vision and almost legendry skills of translator, journalist, songsmith and cultural historian, Vera Rich. Indeed, her insightful, pioneering, work on the potent and stirring verses of Janka Kupala – the bard and prophet of Belarusian letters, is herein accompanied by subtle interpretations of Jakub Kolas as the wry observer of Belarusian customs, along with Maksim Bahdanovich as its experimental, sophisticated and lyrical literary moderniser. Each fearless poet, in turn, constructing the very foundations upon which contemporary Belarusian literature is built. And as such, this proud collection of captivating poetry from a uniquely gifted nation truly celebrates the achievements of an astonishing lady.