Zmicier Vishnioŭ
In his novel about the exile existence of a Belarusian writer in Berlin, Zmicier Vishniou moves between autofiction and fantasy and builds a branching labyrinth that spans different worlds: The deceased friends from Belarus visit the narrator in Berlin (sub)worlds, the objects become acting figures, the political intervenes in the most intimate, the negotiations about life and art run at full speed, be it with James Joyce or with the nameless dwarf, and in the background the war rages, overshadowing everything. This is an unsparing book about loss and violence, and at the same time a tender book about love and friendship, about the joy of life and art. This novel is an escape from the dictator's butchery and a way to find oneself.
Zmicier Vishnioŭ (* 1973 in Debrecen, Hungary) is a Belarusian prose writer, poet, performance artist, painter and publisher. He is one of the most influential figures on the independent cultural scene in Belarus and one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Belarusian literature with his prose texts, essays and poems.
Since 2007, he has run the independent publishing house Halijafy together with Michas Bashura. The publishing house is primarily dedicated to Belarusian-language literature, with a particular focus on debuts and forgotten works from the last century. The publishing house's activities and the sale of books in the publisher's own bookshop were banned by the state authorities in 2022. This was preceded by months of pressure from the Ministry of Information and tax audits - a common method used by the Belarusian authorities to withdraw licences from independent institutions. Vishnioŭ left Belarus in the summer of 2022 and did not return as planned due to threats. Since then, he and his colleagues have been trying to find alternative financing and production options, at least for the book productions that have been halted in the process.
Vishnioŭ is the author of numerous books, including the anti-novel Калі прыглядзецца - Марс сіні (If you look closely, Mars is blue, 2018) and Замак пабудаваны з крапівы (The nettle house, 2010, Engl. by Martina Jakobson 2014 at luxbooks) as well as the poetry collections Штабкавы тамтам (Striped tam-tam, 1998), Фараон у заапарку (Pharaoh at the zoo, 2006), Тамбурны маскіт (Tambourine Mosquito, 2001), the prose volume Трап для сусьліка, альбо Нэкрафілічнае дасьледаваньне аднаго віду грызуноў (Gangway for the Gopher, or The Necrophilic Investigation of a Rodent Species, 2002) and volumes of essays. His latest collection of poems Непадпарадкаванне (Unsubordinated) was published in 2022 and 2023.
Skaryna Press is a Belarusian publishing house that was founded in London in 2022. It is managed by Ihar Ivanou, with Dr Karalina Matskevich and Hanna Komar in London, Dr Uładzisłaŭ Harbacki in Vilnius and Dr Tatsiana Astrouskaya in Marburg. Books by Ahatanhel Krymskyi, Hanna Komar, Aleś Dubroŭski-Saročankaŭ, Dzmitry Rubin and Artur Kamaroŭski have been published to date.
The book is published in Belarusian.