TERRA INCOGNITA OF BELARUSIAN LITERATURE

Abstract

The article is focused on the content and aesthetic potential of Belorussian literature, which still remains not widely known not for a foreign (including Russian) only, but native reader as well. It is shown that during its development from progressive beginning at the turn of XIX-XX centuries (Y. Kupala, Y. Kolos, M. Bogdanovich, etc.) to the postSoviet period (late “Sixtiers” 1960s, V. Bykov, A. Adamovich, S. Alexievich, V. Neklyaev and their young followers O. Bakharevich, Z. Vishnev, V. Martinovich), problematic array still focused on “marginal” point of view is showing stability. Interest in the problem is related to following historical, sociocultural factors that predetermined the peculiarity of the Belarusian cultural space as unstable national self-identity, geopolitical location at the multicultural cross-road of two major cultural influences of Europe and Russia. By the example of two texts: “Antinovel” by Zmitr Vishnev “If you look closely – Mars is blue” and “Dogs of Europe” by Olgerd Bakharevich (the second one was translated to Russian and granted the “Grand book" award, the reactualization of the “marginal” worldview in the modern Belarusian literature was presented, which actuality for Russian literature from Dostoyevsky to “other prose” late XX, comprehends the image of Russian-Belorussian literature references, caused by “existential type of artistic consciousness” common to a number of authors (V. Zamanskaya).