Francis Skaryna Library, London 37 Holden Rd, London N12 8HS
On 29 October 1937, in one night, the Soviet government murdered over 140 Belarusian cultural and public figures, among them twenty-two poets and writers. Belarusians worldwide gather annually to remember the executed poets and give voice to their poetry. In today’s Belarus, these gatherings often end up with harsh arrests.
The Skaryna Library invites you to join us for an evening of commemoration and poetry. For the first time this year, the works of these poets will also be recited in English, translated by Belarusian-American poet Lena Zycinsky and accompanied by the story of why this ongoing translation work is so personal to her. The guests will be invited to recite the poems in Belarusian.
The event will also incorporate an exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of Maladniak, a once highly influential association of writers of which most of these poets were members.
This is a bilingual event.
