Hanna Yankuta

The project focuses on the works of émigré writers who were born in the Belarusian lands (the area occupied by modern-day Belarus) at the turn of the 20th century and considered themselves Poles, as well as their reflections on their own identity and sense of belonging to their native region. They include Jerzy Giedroyć (born in Minsk), Florian Czarnyszewicz (born near Klichau), and Melchior Wańkowicz (born in Kalyuzhytsa in the Minsk region), among others. The works and biographies of these individuals have never been considered in a Belarusian context, since their names were erased from Belarusian history during the Soviet period. While they clearly cannot be called Belarusians, since they defined themselves as Poles, wrote in Polish and became a part of Polish culture, examining them from a Belarusian perspective will help in developing an understanding of the complex multilingual and multifaceted identities typical for inhabitants of the Belarusian lands at the turn of the 20th century.