Belarusian literature

A separate literary tradition of Belarus became apparent only in the 14th–15th centuries, when together with Ukraine it developed the Ruthenian language, which would gradually diverge into northern (Belarusian) and southern (Ukrainian) varieties.

In the last quarter of the century multiple publications of Belarusian folklore appeared, notably the multi-volume collection by Jeŭdakim Ramanaŭ.

The influence of Mickiewicz can be traced in the works of Jan Barszczewski, Władysław Syrokomla, Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkyevich, Francišak Bahuševič.

After the establishment of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR) in 1919, literary life in Belarus was concentrated around the magazines Maładniak (1923–1928) and Uzvyšša (1926–1931), which were published by a group of Belarusin writers[citation needed].

Besides the authors from the previous periods (Źmitrok Biadula, Jakub Kołas), this was a period of active work of poets Michaś Čarot, Uładzimier Duboŭka, Petro Glebka, Aleś Dudar, and writers Maksim Harecki, Ciška Hartny, Jurka Vićbič and Kuźma Čorny.

Outside of Belarus, Belarusian literature developed as well—in Vilnius, Kaunas, Prague (Michaś Mašara, Kazimier Svajak).

After the end of the World War II, the key themes for the new Belarusian literature were war time experiences, the life of Belarusians in the Soviet Union and national history (in particular, novels by Ivan Mielež and Ivan Šamiakin)[citation needed].

[citation needed] In 2015, Belarusian investigative journalist and prose writer Svetlana Alexievich was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time".