Professor Piatkevich: Bykov had no Nobel prize chances

Professor Aliaksei Piatkevich from Yanka Kupala University in Hrodna thinks that Vasil Bykov had no chances to get a Nobel prize in literature. He made this statement in an interview with the European Radio for Belarus before the launch of Siarhei Shapran's monography Vasil Bykov: The History of Life. Aliaksei Piatkevich: "This is not about Bykov; this is about Belarus. It was difficult for Bykov to contend as a Nobel prize candidate. Back then, Belarus did not exist as an ethnic nation. Bykov was percieved as a representative of the Russian or Soviet literature. Of course, this was a hurdle. The Nobel prize is not just given out for talent or books. There must be a personality which represents a nation. But our nation was not seen back then. I think this is one of the serious reasons".

Two days before Bykov's death, writers in Hrodna wanted to nominate hims for a Nobel prize, but apparently failed.

The first volume of Siarhei Shapran's two-volume monography Vasil Bykov: The History of Life was released in April 2009. I has 734 pages and many photos which come out for the first time. The book contains unknown archive materials, manuscripts and letters of Bykov as well as the memoires from Chingis Aitmatov, Svetlana Alexievich, Henadz Buraukin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Zianon Pazniak and Stanislau Shushkevich. The second volume is expected to be released in June. It will be timed with the 85th birthday anniversary of Belarus' legendary writer.