Pre-17th century Belarusian literature was formed from the common basis of
Kievan Rus' literary tradition, which also gave rise to
Ukrainian literature and
Russian literature. A separate literary tradition of
Belarus became apparent only in the 14th–15th centuries, when together with
Ukraine it developed the
Ruthenian language, which would gradually diverge into northern (Belarusian) and southern (Ukrainian) varieties. The old Belarusian literature experienced its golden age in the 16th–17th centuries, when the Old Belarusian language was the official language of the
Great Duchy of Lithuania. The Statutes of the Great Duchy of 1529, 1566 and 1588, as well as polemic religious literature were all published in Old Belarusian language. Since the early 16th century Belarusian literary works have been printed. The first printed Belarusian book (in the version of Old Belarusian) was Psaltyr, which was printed in
Prague by
Francysk Skaryna in 1517 (this was the first book to be printed in an East Slavonic language). Another well-known, influential work of that era was the
Chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia. During the 16th and 17th century poetry and drama (see
Simeon Polotsky) appeared in Belarusian literature under the influence of a more developed
Polish literature.
18th and 19th centuries Due to the cultural dominance of the
Polish language within the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the
Russian language within the
Russian Empire, Belarusian language was used only occasionally in the 18th century literature, most notably by the dramatists
Kajetan Moraszewski and
Michal Ciecierski, who mixed Polish-speaking and Belarusian-speaking characters in their comedies. The literary renaissance began in the 19th century. Anonymous burlesque poems
Inside-out Aeneid (1820s) and
Taras on Parnassus (ca. 1855) appeared in circulation and were eventually published. Several works were contributed by local-born authors who also wrote in Polish (
Jan Barszczewski,
Jan Czeczot,
Vincent Dunin-Marcinkievič,
Alaksandar Rypinski). The second half of the 19th century saw the rise of
Realism (
Francišak Bahuševič,
Adam Hurynovič,
Janka Łučyna). In the last quarter of the century multiple publications of Belarusian folklore appeared, notably the multi-volume collection by
Jeŭdakim Ramanaŭ. In this period, both
Belarusian Latin alphabet and
Cyrillic alphabet were actively used. Separately in Belarusian literature is the
Polish-language work of
Adam Mickiewicz. His work is often attributed to the “Belarusian school” of Polish-language literature—representatives of this school, following Mickiewicz, wrote on the themes of the life of the Belarusian people, paying great attention to folklore. The influence of Mickiewicz can be traced in the works of
Jan Barszczewski,
Władysław Syrokomla,
Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkyevich,
Francišak Bahuševič.
Early 20th century A new period started after the
1905 Russian Revolution, when the first Belarusian-language newspapers were established in
Vilnius (
Naša Dola and
Naša Niva). They brought together a circle of writers, who were arguing for developing the Belarusian language and its literature (including
Janka Kupała,
Maksim Bahdanovič,
Źmitrok Biadula,
Maksim Harecki,
Jakub Kołas). The Belarusian literature of the time combined elements of Romanticism, Realism and Modernism.
World War I During
World War I and the proclamation of the
Belarusian People's Republic (1918), the key themes within the Belarusian literature were patriotism and common life.
Interwar period After the establishment of the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) in 1919, literary life in Belarus was concentrated around the magazines
Maładniak (1923–1928) and
Uzvyšša (1926–1931), which were published by a group of Belarusian writers. Besides the authors from the previous periods (
Źmitrok Biadula,
Jakub Kołas), this was a period of active work of poets
Michaś Čarot,
Uładzimier Duboŭka,
Petro Glebka,
Aleś Dudar, and writers
Maksim Harecki,
Ciška Hartny,
Jurka Vićbič and
Kuźma Čorny. Outside of Belarus, Belarusian literature developed as well—in
Vilnius,
Kaunas,
Prague (
Michaś Mašara,
Kazimier Svajak). In 1934, the Union of Writers of BSSR was established in
Minsk. The tradition of
socialist realism appeared in the 1930s. Many writers perished in the
1937 mass execution of Belarusians.
Post-war period After the end of the
World War II, the key themes for the new Belarusian literature were war time experiences, the life of Belarusians in the
Soviet Union and national history (in particular, novels by
Ivan Mielež and
Ivan Šamiakin). Since the 1960s a new theme of morality appeared in the Belarusian prose. Many writers have been fighting for
freedom of speech for the authors (in particular,
Vasil Bykaŭ and
Uładzimier Karatkievič). There are several Belarusian authors who have left Belarus and now work in emigration (for instance,
Natalla Arsieńnieva and
Aleś Sałaviej). Among leading literary magazines of Belarus are
Litaratura i mastactva (since 1932) and
Połymia (since 1922). In 2015, Belarusian
investigative journalist and prose writer
Svetlana Alexievich was awarded the 2015
Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time". == Famous Belarusian writers ==