Volha IPATAVA, a poet and a prose writer, was born January 1, 1945, in Mir, Hrodna region, Belarus, into a middle class family. After her mother's death she was sent to an orphanage (1956-1961). In 1961 she entered the Belarusian State University where she majored in Russian language and literature, in 1963 she decided to take a correspondence course instead, and went to live with her aunt in Vitebsk. She was a teacher and a manager at a book selling company (1964). In 1965-68 Ipatava worked at the local governmental office, but her desire to write brought her to a local TV channel (1968-1970). After that she moved to Minsk where she has worked for various newspapers and journals. From 1975-1978 she lived in Moscow while studying for her PhD.

Her first poem was published in 1956 and she has been writing constantly since 1959. She has authored numerous books of poetry and most of her poems are devoted to youth. Ipatava talks of Belarus and of the heroic deeds of her people and their everyday work. It has been observed that her poems have ties with folklore. Since the 1970s she has made several attempts to write prose, mostly about the children of war and their life afterwards. She has also authored several books devoted to the history of Belarus, as well as stories for children and various translations. One of her stories was made into a movie and several of her verses were put to music.

She was awarded the 'Sign of Honour Order' and the 'Frantsysk Skaryna Medal'.