Country in E minor. Early Lyrics by Oleg Bembel (Znich)

Abstract

The article analyzes the early philosophical and intimate lyrics of Oleg Bembel, which until now have not been the subject of research by literary critics. Oleg Bembel is known as a dissident philosopher, and author of the book Native Language and Moral and Aesthetic Progress (Родная мова і маральна-эстэтычны прагрэс, London, 1985), and also as a poet-monk, author of religious-patriotic and religious-prayer poems under the pseudonym Znich. The early secular lyrics of Oleg Bembel, published in the collective poetry collection Wing (Крыло, Minsk, 1984), are considered in the article: 1) as an important element in reproducing the creative evolution of the famous poet; 2) as an example of the intellectual and philosophical trend in the Belarusian poetry of the 80s. 20th century; 3) as valuable material for studying the relationship between censorship and artistic creation in Soviet Belarus and totalitarian society as a whole. It is difficult to compare the early philosophical and intimate lyrics of Oleg Bembel (Znich) with his dissident and religious poems in “samizdat” and emigration publications, but it can also be considered a manifestation of  nonconformism.