Viachaslau ADAMCHYK, a playwright, prose writer and translator, was born November 1, 1933 into a peasant family in the Hrodna region. After seven years of school he started working as a loader. During this time he continued his studies at an evening school. Between 1952 and 1957 he studied at the department of journalism in the philological faculty of the Belarusian State University. For several years he worked on various central Belarusian literary journals and newspapers. In 1976-80 he worked as the main editor in Belarusfilm cinema studio. Adamchyk had the honour of taking part in the 38th UN Session, as a Belarus representative.

His first poems were published in 1953. However, he considered 1957 to be the start of his literary career; it was then that his first stories were published. Among his popular works there are collections of short stories Оur Own Man, The Milky Way, The Wild Dove, A Day in Early Autumn; a series of novels about the life of a Western Belarusian village before and during WWII (the first of them, A Foreign Fatherland, was turned into a film); documentary film scripts, among them Ivan Melezh, Valiantsin Taulai and Yakub Kolas, et al.; and translations of many Russian poems and prose and Bulgarian folk tales.

Adamchyk was awarded the 'Friendship of Nations Order', Yakub Kolas Belarusian State prize (1988) and Melezh Literary prize (1980).

Edzi AHNIATSVET, a poetess, was born in Minsk on September 28, 1913. Her father worked at a lumber mill and her mother was a librarian. Ahniatsvet loved classical literature, a love she attributed to her mother's influence, and so started reading Belarusian poetry. She then went on to writing her own poetry in 1929. Her style was greatly influenced by the works of Y. Kupala.

E. Ahniatsvet worked at Minsk automobile factory, at children's radio station, consulted at the Union of Writers of Belarus. During World War II was in Uzbekistan, where she befriended Y. Kolas.

Ahniatsvet mostly wrote for children and even authored several scripts for children's operas. She translated into Belarusian a bulk of Russian and French poetry. Many of her verses were made into songs.

She was awarded a number of various prizes and awards.

Eduard AKULIN, a poet, was born in 1963 in Homel region, in a village that is now heavily contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. He began work as a teacher. Later he became in charge of the Belarusian Hut Museum - a branch of Maksim Bahdanovich's museum - where he staged traditional Belarusian puppet shows (Batleika) and wrote Christmas mysteries. In 2002 he started a new literary magazine Dzeyaslou (Verb) that has become one of the most popular literary magazines.

His first poem was published in Biarozka, a children's magazine, in 1979. The first collection of verse Tenderness of Rain came out in 1990 and the first album of his songs My Kryvia was released in 1995. His verses are full of life and optimism in spite of the Chernobyl tragedy that the author had to go through. They are rather artistic and contain many rich metaphors. Akulin introduces new exotic forms and experiments in poetry. For instance, the words of some of his verses all start with the same letter. His collection Angel Wing (1995) contains many of his poetic experiments. Some critics claim that it is the tune of his songs, not the lyrics, which make his works so popular.

Mikola AROCHKA, a poet and a prose writer, translator, and literary critic, was born December 12, 1930. He was born into a peasant's family in the Hrodna region, Belarus. He started schooling in a Polish school, continued on at a Belarusian school in Slonim's district, and then graduated from the Belarusian State University (1956). He worked for various literary journals and newspapers. Arochka's main studies are on V. Taulai's life and works. Since 1966 he has worked in the Institute of Literature, National Academy of Sciences. Arochka holds a PhD in literature (1981).

His first verses were published in 1949 in local newspapers. From there he was noticed by Minsk writers and invited to take part in the Third Council of Young Writers (1950). Arochka's poetry is open, thoughtful and philosophical. His main subject matter is history and his experiences during World War II.

Natallia ARSENNEVA, the eminent Belarusian poetess, translator, playwright and libretto writer, was born September 20, 1903. She wrote outside of her native country but is considered to be a classic of Belarusian literature. The best examples of her landscape lyrics are evaluated as high as masterpieces of M. Bahdanovich and Y. Kupala.

Natallia Arsenneva's family is distantly related to Mikhail Lermontov's (famous Russian poet of the 19th century). She was educated in Vilnia but her higher education was interrupted when she married a well-known Belarusian military and civic leader, Frantsishak Kushal. In 1922 she had to leave Vilnia and accompany her husband to Poland, the place of his military service. In 1940 Arsenneva, with her two sons, left Poland for Belarus but was shortly after arrested by the NKVD and deported to Kazakhstan. After the outbreak of the WWII, she moved to Minsk where she stayed until June 1944 when, with the approach of Soviet troops, the Kushals were evacuated to Western Germany. Later, in 1950, Arsenneva emigrated to the United States of America where she lived until her last days.

Her first verses appeared in 1920 in Vilnia, the cradle of Belarusian history, with the support and encouragement of Maksim Haretski, an noted writer, literary critic and historian of Belarusian literature. In 1927 her first collection of verses Under the Blue Skies was published. While living in, the then occupied by fascists, Minsk, Arsennieva wrote and published a lot to help and contribute to the Belarusian culture, which was suffering from pressures on both its Eastern and Western boarders.

Without being directed by the ideas of socialist realism, unlike the rest of Belarusian literature in the BSSR, in her poetry Arsenneva praised pure beauty, the wonders of nature, love and her native country.

Anatol ASTREIKA (real name Akim Astreika), a poet and a translator, was born July 11, 1911, in the Minsk region, Belarus. He was born into a poor peasant family and had to start helping his parents at an early age. He graduated from the Minsk Pegagogical Community College where he spent 2 years studying. Astreika was greatly impressed by his Belarusian language and literature teacher, who knew many authors personally and could quote them at length. He went on to study at the Minsk Pedagogical Institute (1932-1934), which became a helpful step towards his eventual work teaching Belarusian. Astreika also worked for several newspapers and journals. During World War II he worked for a newspaper, which at that time was distributed in a poster format. His more exciting role at this time was as a spy, being sent into the occupied territories during the years 1942 and 1943.

Astreika started writing verses as a student (1929). He authored various books of poetry, focusing on the life of a common person. His verses are very open in their portrayal of intimate feelings. They have a close knit with folklore and are very melodical. He translated into Belarusian from Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Moldavian, and Uzbek.

Astreika was awarded with the 'Red Star' and 'Honorary Sign' Orders as well as various medals. Both a street and a library in Kapyl, Minsk region, bear his name as a tribute to him.

Mikola AURAMCHYK, a poet, prose writer and a translator, was born January 14, 1920, into a peasant family in the Mahiliou region of Belarus. In 1938 he became a student of Minsk Pedagogical Institute, and also worked for a newspaper. He took part in World War II. At the end of 1942 he was captured by the Nazis and brought to Ruhr to work in a coal mine. He was liberated by the British at the end of 1945, who sent him to rejoin the Soviet troops. After the war Auramchyk worked for some time in Donbas (coal mines in the Ukraine). In the spring of 1949 he came back to Minsk and studied at the Belarusian State University, majoring in journalism. During his studies he worked for a variety of newspapers.

He started writing whilst he was at school and his first verses were published in 1937. He is mostly known as a lyrical poet, expressing many feelings through his work. He also makes wide use of autobiographical details. Auramchyk writes of World War II; his love of Belarus; his hate of Nazism; his sufferings in slavery and work in Ruhr's mines; the joy of Victory in war; the romantics of the life of a student; the joy of work and the unity of nations of the world. He is also noted as a very good translator.

Auramchyk has been awarded the 'Patriotic War' (2 Grade) and the 'Sign of Honour' Orders, many medals, et al., and has been given Honorary Addresses of Belarus, Ukraine, and Lithuania.