Янка Купала: Жизнь и творчество белорусского поэта

Belarusian poet

Yanka Kupala (; July 7 1882 [O. S. June 25 1882] – 28 June 1942), was the pen name of Ivan Daminikavich Lutsevich (Іван Дамінікавіч Луцэвіч, Иван Доминикович Луцевич), a Belarusian poet and writer.

Kupala was born on July 7, 1882, in Viazynka, a folwark settlement near Maladzyechna. His family had been well known since the early 17th century, coming from the szlachta, although grown poor so both of his parents had to work as tenant farmers at the folwark. Yanka’s grandfather leased the land from the Radziwiłł family who eventually expelled him from his home. The story later formed the basis of Kupala’s drama ‘Раскіданае гняздо (п’еса)’. Young Ivan had to help his father support the family. When his father died in 1902 he became the only provider. He worked a variety of short term jobs, including as a tutor, a shop assistant, and a record keeper. Later he was hired as a labourer at the local distillery. Despite the hard work he managed to find time for self education. He wrote almost all books from his father’s library, graduated from the local folk school and successfully qualified as a teacher. He took part in the 1905 Russian Revolution. Between 1908 and 1909 Ivan lived in Vilnius and worked at the Nasha Niva newspaper. At the time he composed his most famous poem ‘Who goes there?’ that was eventually put into music and became a hymn of Belarusians. who created and became the director of the Государственный литературный музей Янки Купалы in Minsk.

Kupala's first serious literary attempt was Ziarno, a Polish language sentimental poem which he completed around 1903–1904 under the pseudonym "K a." His first Belarusian language work ("Мая доля") was dated July 15, 1904. Kupala's first published poem, "Мужык" ("Peasant"), was published approximately a year later, appearing in Belarusian in the Russophone Belarusian newspaper Severo Zapadnyi Krai (Northwestern Krai) on May 11, 1905. A number of subsequent poems by Kupala appeared in the Belarusian language newspaper Nasha Niva from 1906 to 1907.

Kupala moved to Vilnius in 1908, where he continued with his career as a poet. The same year the first published collection of his poems, Жалейка (The Little Flute) brought on the ire of the czarist government, which ordered the book confiscated as an anti government publication. The order for Kupala's arrest was revoked in 1909, but a second printing was again confiscated, this time by the local authorities in Vilnius. He ceased working for the Nasha Niva in order to avoid ruining the reputation of the newspaper. Kupala left for Saint Petersburg in 1909. The subsequent year saw the publication of several works, including the poem Адвечная песьня (Eternal Song), which appeared as a book in St. Petersburg in July 1910. Сон на кургане (Dream on a Barrow)– completed in August 1910 –symbolised the poor state of Kupala's Belarusian homeland. Among those influencing Kupala in the 1910s was Maxim Gorky. Kupala left St. Petersburg and returned to Vilnius in 1913, where he started working at Nasha Niva again. He started working in the People’s Commissariat of Education of the BSSR, then headed the library in the "Belarusian hattsy", edited magazines 'Run' (1920) and 'Volny stsyag' (1920–1922).

Kupala became recognised as a symbol of the culture of Belarus during the Soviet era. A museum, organized in Minsk through the efforts of his widow in 1945, is the leading literary museum in Belarus. Hrodna State University was named after Yanka Kupala. There is also a park (with a monument to the poet), a theatre and a metro station (Kupalaŭskaja) named after him in Minsk. A special field in the Belarusian literary studies dedicated to Kupala's legacy is called 'Kupalaznaustva'. A monument to Kupala is located on a square in the city of Ashdod in Israel. The biopic Kupala was produced by BelarusFilm in 2020 and dramatizes the turbulent and tragic life of the poet.