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Bykaw's birth anniversary to be marked by Belarusian-language dictation session in St. Petersburg

A Belarusian-language dictation session will be held in the Library of National Literatures of St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 19 on the occasion of the 86th birth anniversary of Belarus' literary great Vasil Bykaw.

The session was organized by the Batskawshchyna World Association of Belarusians and the Belarusian community in St. Petersburg, the Association's spokeswoman, Tatsyana Pechanko, told BelaPAN.

Participants will write to dictation an extract from The Long Road Home, the last book written by Bykaw. The text will be read out by Belarusian guitar poet Ales Kamotski, who will also sing his songs and share his memories of Bykaw.

All those interested are welcome to take part in the dictation session, Ms. Pechanko said.

Vasil Bykaw (1924-2003) is a monumental figure in Belarusian literature and civic thought. The writer’s talent and the moral courage that permeates his writings earned him endorsements for the Nobel Prize nomination from, among others, Nobel Prize winners Joseph Brodsky and Czeslaw Milosz.

An opponent of Alyaksandr Lukashenka and a member of the Belarusian Popular Front, he lived abroad for several years (first in Finland, then in Germany and the Czech Republic), but returned to his homeland just a month before his death.