This week, we take a look at the Belarusian poet who has died at the age of 87, and also the poet who has launched a high court battle against the Arts Council.
Uladzimir Karyzna has Died Aged 87
The poet Uladzimir Karyzna, who wrote the words to the Belarus national anthem, has died at the age of 87.
Born in 1938 in Zakruzhka, in the Minsk district, the poet was awarded the title of the People’s Poet in 2024. He studied at the Belarusian State University in the faculty of Philology before working as a teacher of Russian and Belarusian language and literature in a school. During this time, he also worked for a local newspaper where he led a literary association. He also spent time working in publishing and journalism for a number of magazines and publishing houses.
In 1956 he published his first poem. His creative career spanned many years, and he published a number of poetry collections. He wrote a number of poetry books specifically for children as well. In total it is believed that over 200 of his poems were set to the music of famous Belarusian composers and from this many songs were created.
Karyzna also worked as a translator, translating both children’s literature and poetry.
He was awarded a number of prizes for his work including the Order of Francysk Skaryna and in 2024, as mentioned, the title of People’s Poet of Belarus.
The work for which he is most well known is the text for the Republic of Belarus national anthem. He was responsible for rewording the text of the BSSR anthem which had been created by Mikhas Klimkovich in the early 1950s.
Taxpayer-funded Magazine Cancels Poet Over Gender-Critical Views
The poet Abigail Ottley, a rape survivor who has supported the views expressed by the author JK Rowling on biological sex, has launched a high court battle against the Arts Council.
Ottley who is from Penzance, claims that poetry she wrote for The Aftershock Review has been censored. She believes that the taxpayer-funded arts magazine has “cancelled” her work because it found out that she holds “problematic” gender-critical view, according to the legal paperwork that has been filed.
The poet, a trauma survivor who is in her 70s, has launched a battle in the High Court which may force those arts organisations that are publicly funded to “protect artistic freedom and promote impartiality.”
The Aftershock Review is a poetry magazine that promotes writing that is shaped by identity, survival and lived experiences. The magazine claimed on the withdrawal of her poems that they had done so following concerns about the poets use of social media, where Ottley had been re-tweeting messages from gender critical individuals who she supported.
The magazine claimed that as Aftershock had receivedfunding from the National Lottery, it was bound by equality law; these require it not to be discriminatory.
The claim was dismissed in January; however, legal proceedings are still ongoing.
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