Poet Nil Hilevič (Ніл Сямёнавіч Гілевіч) (also "Gilevich") (born: September 30, 1931) Photo Credit: Анталогія Беларускай Паэзіі, (pub. Мінск, 1993, page 76).

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Biographical Sketch

Nil Simanovič Hilevič was born on September 30, 1931, in the village of Słabada, in the Łahojsk District of Mensk Province.

Hilevič graduated from the Faculty of Philology of the Belarusian State University in 1956, four years later becoming a teacher, and in 1978 (the year he joined the Communist Party) professor there.

Hilevič is a phenomenally productive writer of poetry, literary criticism, folkloric studies, and translations, and a recipient of literary awards. He was also a member of the 12th Supreme Council and ardently defended constitutionalism and the right of Belarusan culture to be protected and supported by the state.

Hilevič's first published verses appeared as early as 1946, but it was another eleven years before his first verse collection came out, Pieśnia ŭ darohu (Song of the Road; 1957). This was followed by Pradvieśnie idzie pa ziamli (A Feeling of Spring Passes over the Earth [also as: The Dawn of Spring Runs Over the Earth]; 1959), Niespakoj (Disquiet; 1961), Balšak (The Highway; 1965), Pierazovy (Exchanges; 1967), A dzie ž taja kryničańka? (And Where is That Little Spring?; 1972), Aktavy (Octaves; 1976), U dobraj zhodzie (In Good Agreement; 1979), and Poviaz (A Tie; 1987).

In addition, Hilevič has produced a number of purely humorous and satirical works, including Zvankovy valet (The Jack of Diamonds; 1961), Da novych vienikaŭ (To New Wreaths; 1963), Ci hrech, ci dva (A Sin or Two; 1970), Jak ja vučyŭsia žyć (How I Learnt to Live; 1974), and Rusałka na Naračy (Mermaid in the Narač; 1974).

Other works include a recent novel in verse, Rodnyja dzieci (Dear Children; 1972-1984), over five collections of children's verse, a book of places, Načleh na buślancy (Night in the Stork's Nest; 1980), at least seven books of literary and folklorie studies, and many edited collections of folk materials.

Hilevič is also a noted translator of Bulgarian prose and poetry into Belarusian, as well as numerous translations of the work of Slovenian, Polish, Lusatian, Ukrainian, and Russian poets.

From 1980, he has been executive secretary of the Writer's Union, and is now a People's Poet of Belarus (1991). From 1989 to 1997, Hilevič chaired the Belarusan Language Society and has widely participated in polemics on the subject of Russification, national consciousness, and state independence."

Professor McMillin comments about Hilevič's poetry (page 118):

"Nil Hilevič is not only an extremely fecund and fluent poet but one of great passion and emotional directness. His lyric hero is a creative figure with an acute sense of social responsibility who seems to place great importance on folk values and aesthetics. The latter area also reflected in his style, which incorporates many devices from popular poetry whilst at the same time maintaining realism and clarity of expression."

"His main themes have been village life, Belarusian national feeling, allied to a general interest in foreign countries, the tragedy of war, and his country's history seen in relation to the present."

"A further major theme in the sixties was Stalinism and its moral corruption which Hilevič condemned vigorously but not rhetorically, in poems like Mianie vučyli aściarožnaści (They Taught Me Caution; 1962), and not merely in negative terms but as part of an active struggle to restore as much as possible of what had been destroyed during that tragic period."

The preceding summary was compiled from the following sources:

• The "Notes on Authors" section in Like Water, Like Fire (Vera Rich, translator and editor; 1971; p. 336).
• The entry in the Historical Dictionary of Belarus (Zaprudnik, 1998; p. 118).
• Belarusian Literature in the 1950s and 1960s, pages 117-123, by Arnold B. McMillin; Germany; (1999).
• Анталогія Беларускай Паэзіі, (pub. Мінск, 1993, pages 76-85).
• Belaruskaya Mova: Entziklapediya, edited by Mikhevich, A. Ya., et. al. (1994); pages 128-131.

(Note: In the preceding excerpt, terms in bold refer to other entries in the Historical Dictionary of Belarus. The Historical Dictionary of Belarus is an important summary of the history of Belarus.)

See the following examples of his writing: Poem: "Song Walked in the Wood" (1960) Belarusian & English versions Poem: "Far off afield. . ." (1966) Belarusian & English versions Poem: "A New Century. . ." (2001) Belarusian & English versions Essay: "Значыць, за прыклад возьмем валійцаў?" - on the TBM ,“Наша слова” Web site   (issue 516, July, 2001) "Значыць, за прыклад возьмем валійцаў?"

Photo Credit: Belaruskaya Mova: Entziklapediya, edited by Mikhevich, A. Ya., et. al. (1994); page 128.