The Journal of Byelorussian Studies

Vol. III, No. 4

CONTEMPORARY YOUNG BYELORUSSIAN POETS, 1967-1975 
by S. Akiner

Poetry enjoy considerable popularity in Byelorussia today. Much is being written and the overall standard is remarkably high. In 1967 a new series was started, Piershaja kniha paeta (Poet's first book)...

...Since then, the work of nearly fifty young poets, aged between twenty-one and thirty-five, has appeared in this enterprising series...

...Closely allied to...love of their country is pride in their native language. This generation grew up at a time a strong trend towards total russification was making itself felt throughout Soviet society. Byelorussia was in a particularly vulnerable position, due to its proximity to Russia, its comparative smallness and the fact that its language belongs to the same linguistic sub-group as Russian, the East Slavonic group. One of the most serious results of this situation for Byelorussia was that many school-children stopped studying Byelorussian...

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