Belarus: persons and events (Shnip Viktar Anatolyevich)

V.Shnip was born in the village of Pugachi, Volozhyn District, Minsk Region, not far from the famous Vyazynka, in a peasant family. He graduated from the Minsk School of Architecture and Construction (1978) and the Higher Literary Courses in Moscow (1987). He worked on construction sites in Minsk, in the newspaper «Viacherni Minsk» and the magazines «Neuman» and «Belarus», was the responsible secretary of the newspaper «Nasha slova». Since 1995, he has been the deputy editor-in-chief, and since 2002, he has been the editor-in-chief of the weekly «Literature and Art». Now V. Shnip is the deputy director of the «Fiction» publishing house and the editor-in-chief of the «Polymya» magazine.

V.Shnip entered literature in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He published his first poem «Seventeen to Me» in the newspaper «Red Shift» in 1977. From that time, selections of his works began to appear in regional and national periodicals. In 1983, the poet's first collection, «A Bunch of Light», was published, which was composed of poems traditional for Belarusian literature about builders, his native village of Pugachy, daily worries of people, mother, love. In the multi-voiced chorus of young Belarusian poetry, he was distinguished by good language, winged with thought, precise lines, fresh metaphorical, vivid images of the surrounding world. In 1987, the book was awarded the Vladimir Mayakovsky Prize of the Council of Ministers of Georgia. Later, the collection «The Search for Joy» (1987) was filled with hope and optimism. In 1990, a new collection «By the Wind» was published. It is based on an appeal to national heritage. The collection consists of four sections, the titles of which - «Grey Wind», «Wind of Truth», «Wind of Tenements», «Wonderful Wind» - symbolize the poet's search for the meaning of life. The continuation of this search is the collection «Wolf Wind», which was published in 2001 in one book with «Knightly Chronicles» by L. Rublevskaya. It was composed of works written by the poet in the last years of the 20th century. It is the image of the wind that allows the poet to convey the feeling of perception of the eternal and at the same time eternally changing world and life in his own way.

The collection «On the Remains of the Temple» (1994) is filled with pain and anxiety over the destruction that took place in our society at the end of the last century. In the book there is a lot of minor and reflection, even tragedy in the perception of the troubles that befell contemporaries. The poet painfully talks about the destruction of the most important thing - the Temple of the Soul.

Then there were collections of his works «The Kidnapping of Europe» (1996), «Red Lantern» (2000), «Inquisition» (2002), «Salvation by Poison» (2003), «Belarusian Sea» (2004), «Ballad of Stones» (2006), «Arrow of love, cross of love» (2008). He is the author of children's books «Sunflowers for Veronichka» (1995) and «Our Maxim Says: «Huh!» (1999).

The genre diversity of V. Shnip lyrics is impressive. In his work, civil and journalistic motifs border on intimate ones, landscape lyrics turn into philosophical ones. Consistently from poem to poem, the poet creates an image of the present. In his works, love for the Motherland, his land, native and eternal, and at the same time a tragic perception of reality, words of sadness and warning («Don't ask: how do you live?...», «I live among the stones...», «We live without remembering that the world...» etc.). The poet's intimate lyrics are attractive with soft lyricism, psychologism, and precision of feelings. This is the cycle of sonnets «The Story of One Love», and individual poems «... That's all... You are not with me...», «... Years have passed, as if the rains have passed...», «... There will still be tall soft grasses...» and others. Many of the poet's poems are devoted to the rich heritage of his ancestors, spiritual landmarks, and the historical past.

Working in one of his favorite genres – the ballad, V. Shnip created many images-portraits of historical figures, writers, artists of past centuries («Ballad of Ragneda», «Ballad of Edvard Vainilovich», «Ballad of Ferdinand Rushchits», etc.). The heroes of the works are not only specific people, but also nature itself, its elements, seasons, even times of the day («Ballad of our Sun», «Ballad of September Night», «Ballad of Autumn Fog», «Ballad of Winds»). V. Shnip turned to this genre at the beginning of his work. A whole section of ballads appeared in his book «Belarusian Sea». Almost 100 original works of the mentioned genre were included in the collection «Ballad of Stones», which received the highest award - «Golden Cupid» (2007) at the First Republican competition for the best book of the year. The book «Arrow of Love, Cross of Love» was not without ballads - a continuation of the poet's thoughts about the world in which we live and in which there is a place for sincere love and great love. The collection also contains several miniature stories and poems about love («The First Paper Snow», «Leaves and Golden Leaves», «Evening Rain and Tears»).

V.Shnip is the author of dozens of songs. Among them is the song «We all come from childhood», which gave the name to the Republican Competition of Young Talents. Awarded the Special Award of the President of the Republic of Belarus to a figure of culture and art (2008).

Based on the materials of the National Library of Belarus

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