Warsaw University Library Hosts Exhibition of Unique Belarusian Publications

The first editions of collections by Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas, works by Yaukhim Karski, classical Belarusian literature, and the first national periodicals printed in Latin script, among much else, are preserved in the Warsaw University Library.

This collection allows for the study of the development of the Belarusian language, literature, and national movement from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. An interesting part of historical book printing, preserved in the Warsaw University Library and connected with Belarus, was presented at an exhibition on October 20.

"We wanted to show books related to Belarus and the history of the Belarusian national movement. These include both scholarly works and literary pieces, printed in Cyrillic and Latin script, which was quite often used in Belarusian publications in the 19th century. Among them are works by Professor Karski, published during the Russian Empire, as well as the first editions of works by Belarusian poets, including Yanka Kupala. Also presented are official Russian publications from the late 19th century, dedicated to the Russian Empire. They are richly illustrated and are very rarely found in public libraries today. From the very beginning, these were luxurious editions. They have been preserved in our library partly thanks to its state status in the 19th century," said Zbigniew Olczak, head of the 19th-century publications department of the Warsaw University Library.

According to library employee Natallia Breiva, the exhibition presented only a part of the materials related to Belarus, but thanks to its preparation, the librarian transferred many items related to Belarus from the old paper catalog to a computer one, which will significantly facilitate the work of researchers and students interested in Belarusian topics:

"Belarusian themes are presented very diversely. For today's exhibition, we prepared materials on ethnography, literature, literary studies, language, linguistics, as well as book graphics. Materials on history, politics, statistics, archaeography, and geography were left out of the exhibition, but only because we were limited by time and space," she explained.

Among the presented scholarly works are "Belarusy" by Yaukhim Karski and "Belaruski zbornik" by Yaukhim Ramanau. The literary part included, in particular, "Dudar belaruski" by Vincent Dunin-Martsinkyevich, Kupala's "Zhalejka", "Huslyar" and "Shlyakham zhytstsia", as well as "Pesni-zhalby" by Yakub Kolas. These copies provide an opportunity to compare book design, spelling, and the use of two graphic systems.

Павялічыць

"I suspect that our readers and conference participants have never before seen such a number of books published in Belarusian Latin script. Belarusian Latin script also developed. Researchers and literary figures sought ways to best convey Belarusian phonetics. Therefore, even in the Latin script familiar to us, additional characters appeared that might surprise," noted Natallia Breiva.

The exhibition also featured "Mova belaruskaya" (Belarusian Language) by Yazep Losik with a Latin script title page "Mova biełaruskaja", as well as "Belaruski kalyandar Nashay Nivy for 1911" (Belarusian Calendar of Nasha Niva for 1911). The calendar reflected publishing activities related to the newspaper and expanded the readership of contemporary Belarusian literature.

The librarian also drew attention to the conditions under which these books appeared: "Belarusians and researchers of Belarusian topics faced enormous difficulties in publishing books in Belarusian or books related to Belarus. Therefore, authors were forced to look for places where such a book could be published. This could be St. Petersburg, Lviv, Vilnius. Minsk was very rarely encountered. For example, Dunin-Martsinkyevich managed to publish books in Minsk."

The exhibition at the Warsaw University Library was prepared for the International Scientific Conference "Polish-Belarusian Linguistic, Literary, and Cultural Connections," which took place on October 19-20 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Department of Belarusian Studies at Warsaw University. The presentation of the books became part of the discussion about the past, present, and future of Belarusian book printing.

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