Poetry
Дудка беларуская
Not translated into English
Francishak Bahushevich · 1891
Opening lines
Эх, скручу я дудку!
Такое зайграю,
Што ўсім будзе чутка
Ад краю да краю!
Hey, I'll twist myself a pipe!
I'll play such a tune
That everyone will hear it
From end to end of the land!
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from knihi.com
Synopsis
A collection of poems published under the name of Maciej Buračok, preceded by an appeal to the Belarusians to cherish their language, “so as not to die”. The verses, close to folk song, take as their matter the life of the peasants, the nature of the countryside and the lot of those who work the land; they carry strong motifs of national awakening and claim for this people the right to develop its own language.
Context
The collection appeared in the autumn of 1891 in Kraków, then in Austria, from the printer Władysław Anczyc, in the Latin alphabet. The copies crossed the border of the Russian Empire with difficulty: some remained in Kraków and were sent back to the country only later, and the first edition, once sold out, was reprinted at the expense of a patron, Zygmunt Nahrodski. A second collection by the same author followed, printed in Poznań.
Who it is for
Short poems in Belarusian, printed in Latin characters; no French or English translation of the collection.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first book of poetry written entirely in Belarusian, and as one of the founding texts of the national revival.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.