Meet a member

Belarusian poet and translator Hanna Komar on working in exile

Throughout my time at PEN Belarus, which I joined in 2020, I came to see how the state affected our culture, language, and especially our literature. Our organisation has supported Belarusian authors with festivals and literary prizes for years, but being ostracised by the state, we were pushed into creating our own kind of “literary ghetto”.

In autumn 2021, I chose to leave Belarus, and came to the UK on the Chevening scholarship, where English PEN welcomed me into its at-risk community. It also invited me to become an honorary member of the Library and it’s been a privilege to be welcomed into this community, too. I am a frequent borrower, an opportunity I treasure. So far, A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison (Fiction) and Bad Girls: A History of Rebels and Renegades, by Caitlin Davies (S. Prisons), have been particular favourites.

I have worked as a poet, translator and writer, and my next project is an illustrated book based on the Neighbourhoods movement in Belarus, which was a very important part of the pro-democracy people’s movement protesting dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. I have already interviewed activists from Minsk, and am seeking inspiration on the best way to present the story in a touching and simple way. The Library’s children’s collection has been very helpful.

At the moment, it’s not safe to return to Belarus. So, I am staying in the UK and studying for a PhD in supporting Belarusian women to share experiences of gender-based violence and patriarchy using poetry in an autoethnographic approach. I hope through this to further promote Belarusian literature. My involvement with PEN has helped me to see that you can work to change the world around you through writing and reading. •

As told to Elaine Stabler