Poet Alies' Harun (March 11, 1887 - July 28, 1920) (also "Ales' Garun"; Cyrillic: Алесь Гарун; pen name of "Aleksandr Uladzimiravich Prushinski"; Cyrillic: Аляксандр Уладзіміравіч Прушынскі)

Photo Credit: Belaruskaya Mova: Entziklapediya, edited by Mikhevich, A. Ya., et. al. (1994); page 120.

Note: Any Cyrillic Belarusian on this page is in Unicode (UTF-8) font encoding.

Biographical & Literary Summary

"A poet, playwright, publicist, and political activist in the cause of the Belarusan Democratic Republic.

Born in Mensk as Alaksandr Prushinski (Prushynski), Harun came from a poor but literate family (in which education and culture were valued), and he was able to read both Polish and Russian by the age of five. His father was a manual laborer, although it is possible that both he and Harun's mother derived originally from the minor nobility. An apt pupil, Harun entered a trade school at twelve, and four years later in 1902 he took up work as a joiner, remaining in Mensk until 1907.

Discovery of the Belarusian literary language came in 1904, and a little later, Nasha Niva provided an immense stimulus, although Harun did not turn to serious writing until after his arrest for left-wing agitation in 1907.

Also in 1904, Harun joined the radical wing of the Belarusan Party of Socialist Revolutionaries, actively spreading propaganda among workers and students, but in 1907, he was apprehended by the police at an illegal printing press, arrested and placed in solitary confinement.

Imprisonment & Exile

He was first imprisoned in Mensk and Vilnius, and was then exiled in 1908 to Siberia, where he spent nine years before returning, sick with tuberculosis, to Mensk. During those nine years, he worked in a variety of manual occupations including barge-hauling (he had been a joiner in Mensk), at the same time subscribing and contributing to several Belarusian journals.

The years of imprisonment were a turning point in Harun's life, and did have one positive effect in that by cutting him off from all other activity, it gave him time to devote to his creative work. He had, in fact, shown literary talent from an early age, his first works being comic verses in Russian, followed by poems of a more serious, political nature--none of which, however, has survived.

In 1914, he was able to send to Vilnius the collection of his poems, Matshyn Dar (A Mother's Gift), and since he was able to write little during the years of war and revolution, it is on this collection, published in 1918 during the period of the short-lived Belarusian National Republic, that his reputation rests.

Once back in Mensk, he engaged in political work and journalism, participated in the first All-Belarusan Congress of 1917, and headed the Belarusan National Committee. Arnold McMillin writes that, Harun, returning to Mensk with broken health, "this victim of tsarist repression quickly became disillusioned with the Tsar's Bolshevik successors." As a member of the Belarusan Military Commission, Harun collaborated with the Polish army of Jozef Pilsudski, in the belief that with Pilsudski lay the best prospects for Belarusian independence.

Harun left Mensk in 1920 with Pilsudski's retreating army, and died of typhus on 22 [ 28 ? ] July in Cracow, having lived only slightly longer than Maksim Bahdanovich.

Poetry

Harun's poetry is marked by its inventiveness and originality (although not of the same discipline and formal mastery as his contemporary, Maksim Bahdanovich). His poetry included a diversity of form, rich imagery, finely tuned lyricism, and passionate patriotism. He is best known for his book of poetry, Matshyn Dar (A Mother's Gift; 1918).

Matshyn Dar is divided into three sections: "To my Native Land," "In an Alien Land," and "Native Images," the whole introduced by Ludziam (To People). In this poetic credo Harun offers his art and poetry to the Belarusian people, showing an unassuming and deep love for the nation which is itself a bard. Always lyrical, Harun is rarely individualistic, and even at moments of deep depression he is able to call on reserves of patriotic optimism and a conviction that the purpose of life is to serve his distant fellow countrymen. The literary voice of Alies' Harun is a distinctive and powerful one.

Drama

Harun's dramatic output is represented by a number of children's plays, such as The Boy in the Forest (Chlopchyk u lesie) and The Lucky Gold Piece (Shchaslivy chyroniec), which, although almost never performed, have been praised for their elegance and excellent understanding of child psychology.

Prose

Although primarily a poet, Harun's prose writings were sophisticated and depicted the harsh reality of oppression and the struggle to overcome life's adversities.

Notes

The previous summary is compiled from the following sources:
• From the brief entry in the Historical Dictionary of Belarus (Zaprudnik, 1998; p. 117). Note: In the preceding excerpt, terms in bold (other than in the headings) refer to other entries in the Historical Dictionary of Belarus. The Historical Dictionary of Belarus is an important summary of the history of Belarus.)

• The Images Swarm Free: Poems of Ales Harun, Maksim Bahdanovic, and Zmitrok Biadula. Translated by Vera Rich. Parallel text -- Belarusian and English. London (1982); edited and with an Introduction by Arnold B. McMillin, pages 12-15 (much of this Introduction is made use of here).

• A History of Byelorussian Literature (Die Literatur der Weissrussen): From its Origins to the Present Day, by Arnold B. McMillin; Giessen, W. Germany, 1977; pages 123-24; 126-28; 130-32; 134; 140-42; 161-74 (Chapter 13); & 352 (much of this material--and especially interpretive commentary--is made use of here).

• From his entry (including photograph) in Belaruskaya Mova: Entziklapediya (edited by Mikhevich, A. Ya. et.al.; 1994; pp. 119-23). (in Belarusian)

Examples of his poetry

• Poem: "Around..." ("Navakol..."; "Навакол...")
      (both Belarusian and English versions on one page)

• Poem: "Autumn Song" ("Vosenski Speu"; "Восенскі Спеў")
      (both Belarusian and English versions on one page)

• Poem: "To People" ("Ludziam"; "Людзям")
      (both Belarusian and English versions on one page)

• Poem: "Sultry Weather" ("U prypar"; "У прыпар")
      (both Belarusian and English versions on one page)