The Library of the Belarusian State Academy of Music presents a thematic exhibition:
“A pair of wings will grow from the soul…”: marking the 135th anniversary of the birth of Maksim Bahdanovič (November 27, 1891 – May 12, 1917)
Maksim Adamovič Bahdanovič was a Belarusian poet, publicist, literary scholar, and translator; a classic figure of Belarusian literature; and one of the founders of Belarusian literature and the modern literary Belarusian language.
The role and significance of Maksim Bahdanovič in the development of Belarusian letters and in the national and spiritual revival of the Belarusian people have been highly esteemed by posterity. Museums dedicated to Bahdanovič operate in Minsk, Grodno, and Yaroslavl. Streets in all of Belarus’s regional centers, as well as in Smarhoń, Nizhny Novgorod, Pskov, Yaroslavl, and Yalta, have been named after the poet, as have schools and libraries in various Belarusian cities. Operas such as *Star Venus* (music by Yury Siamianjako, libretto by Ales Bačyla) and *Maksim* (music by Ihar Palivoda, libretto by Leanid Prončak) have been dedicated to him. In 1991, Maksim Bahdanovič’s name was included in the UNESCO calendar of “Anniversaries of Great Personalities and Events.”
In 1994, a replica of the monument to the poet located in Minsk was installed in Yaroslavl, near the main building of Yaroslavl State University.
The poet’s works have been translated into some twenty languages and published in Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Russia, France, and other countries. The only collection of M. Bahdanovič’s work published during his lifetime, *Vianok* (The Wreath), was released in 1913 by Martin Kuchta’s printing house in Vilnius. This publication marked a significant milestone in Belarusian literature, bringing the author great success, recognition, and renown. Yanka Kupala noticed and truly appreciated the work of the budding poet, and other writers also acknowledged his talent. As early as the 1950s, a major collection of his selected works was published in Moscow in Russian, featuring translations by leading Soviet poets. In 2000, as part of the “100 Belarusian Books of the 20th Century” project, Maksim Bahdanovich’s book *A Wreath* (*Venok*) was voted the best by a wide margin, and readers named the author himself the best poet.
The exhibition features popular science and literary works, articles, and musical scores.
The display is located in the second-floor foyer of Academic Building No. 2 (9 Kommunisticheskaya St.) and runs from August 1 to December 31, 2026.
