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Also see Dz'micier Zinowjew's Belarusian Poetry Web site for additional information and poems by Jakub Kolas and other Belarusian poets.

From his entry in the Historical Dictionary of Belarus (Zaprudnik, 1998; pp. 135-136):

"Author of some of the classics of Belarusan literature, prose writer and poet, teacher, activist of the Rebirth Movement, lexicographer, and academician. Together with Janka Kupala, Jakub (Yakub) Kolas is the founder of modern Belarusan literature. His real name was Kanstancin Miskievich. The pseudonym Kolas means "ear of grain," indicating the poet's connection with the land and the lot of the peasantry. There was also a practical side to his pseudonym--most of the prerevolutionary writers used pen names for reasons of safety (many are best known under their assumed names)."

"Kolas graduated from the Niasvizh Teachers' Seminary (1902). He was imprisoned for three years (1908-1911) for activism in the cause of opening Belarusan schools, which had been prohibited by the tsarist government. Kolas contributed poetry and short stories to Nasha Niva, and authored two classical narrative poems, Novaya ziamla (New Land) and Symon -- muzyka (Symon the musician). In Soviet Belarus, he was active as a teacher and scholar. For his literary work, he was awarded the honorific title of People's Poet in 1926. In 1929, he was elected vice president of the Belarusan Academy of Sciences." "Kolas' early literary works portray a stark picture of the social deprivation and economic hardship that the peasantry had to endure, but his characters are rebellious. The two narrative poems mentioned above depict daily country life in colorful detail and also reflect strivings for freedom and cultural emancipation. Novaya ziamla is justly called an encyclopedia of Belarusan life. In the latter period of his literary career, Kolas was affected by the ideological constraints of Stalinism, which damaged the artistic quality of his works and undermined their credibility. The memory of Jakub Kolas is preserved in several museums. The most comprehensive is in Mensk, where the writer spent most of his life."

(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.)

Examples of his poetry

• Poem: "O Spring. . ." (Вясна. . .)

      (both Belarusian [Unicode (UTF-8) font encoding] and English versions on one page)

• Poem: "Easter Eve. . ."   (excerpt from The New Land)

      (both Belarusian [Unicode (UTF-8) font encoding] and English versions on one page)

• Poem: "Song of the Bells"

      (both Belarusian [Unicode (UTF-8) font encoding] and English versions on one page)

• Poem: "The Wolf"   (excerpt from The New Land)

      (both Belarusian [Unicode (UTF-8) font encoding] and English versions on one page)

Other Information on the WWW

• The following short story by Yanka (Janka) Bryl includes Jakub Kolas in an important "cameo" role (the complete short story is on this A Belarus Miscellany Web site):
  • Yanka (Janka) Bryl's Short Story: "Lazunok"

  
  

• Several links about Jakub Kolas on Dr. Nikolai N. Kostyukovich's Web site (at the Academy of Sciences, in Mensk, Belarus; a very good collection of links about Belarus and Belarusians):
  • http://www.ac.by/country/belborn1.html#kols. Most links refer to information in Russian.