Folklore, food and books from Belarus
Village beliefs and holidays, the Belarusian table, and the books behind them, from the publisher of Belarusian classics in English.
The White Magpie: The Belarusian Witch Who Was an Empress
In Barszczewski's Nobleman Zavalnia, a snow-white magpie turns into a lady, buys the local gentry with gold and leaves the villages blighted. Here is her tale, the village...
Inside The Belarusian Cookbook: What's in It and Where to Start
What's inside Aliaksandr Biely's The Belarusian Cookbook: the chapters, ten dishes to start with, how it relates to Polish and Lithuanian cooking, and answers to common questions.
Belarusian Literature in English: Where to Start
A translator's starting list of eleven Belarusian books in English, from Maksim Haretski's 1919 novel Two Souls to Alexievich, Bykau, Karatkevich and writers working today.
If You Loved Gogol's Dikanka, Read Barszczewski
Gogol's Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka and Barszczewski's Nobleman Zavalnia are two 19th-century frame tales of village witches and devils. Here is how they compare, tale by...
Folk Horror Books: 20 Eastern European Folk-Horror and Gothic Classics
What folk horror is, and 20 Eastern and Central European folk-horror and gothic classics to read, from Gogol, Mickiewicz and Erben to Karatkevich, Tokarczuk and Barszczewski's Belarusian werewolf.
Slavic Folklore Creatures: A Belarusian Field Guide
House spirits, forest giants, water maidens, witches, werewolves and vampires: a field guide to Slavic folklore creatures as Belarusian villagers described them in 1895, with notes on Barszczewski's...
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Folk tales, food and new books from Belarus
Animated folk tales, Belarusian words and dishes, and news from the press.