Maxim Tank is one of the most famous Belarusian poets. His work was important for the development of Belarusian literature, not only in the artistic, but also in the national sense: after all, he did a lot to popularize the Belarusian language, translated books into it and in every possible way took care of its development.
early years
Maxim Tank, whose biography is the subject of this review, was born in the Minsk region in 1912. His real name is Eugene Skurko. He came from a simple but not poor peasant family. After the outbreak of World War I, he and his family left for Moscow, but after some time he returned to his native village. He studied at two schools: Polish and Russian, became a Komsomol member, but was soon expelled from the gymnasium for freethinking and disobedience. After this, Maxim Tank entered the Vilna Russian gymnasium, in which he first tried himself in the literary field. He published his own manuscript literary magazine, in which he placed his first poems.
The beginning of a literary career
In the 1930s, the poet actively wrote new works under the pseudonym. It was by this time that he became famous throughout the country. However, due to the fact that he lived in Western Belarus, which was then part of Poland, Maxim Tank was persecuted because of the propaganda of the Belarusian language and for publishing a magazine in that language. Nevertheless, he continued to be actively printed in Belarusian publications and to keep a column in Belarusian in a Polish newspaper.
In the indicated decade, he also created large works, poems, for example, “Narach”, “Kalosse”. His works immediately became a noticeable phenomenon in the literary life of the country, they immediately drew attention to the young author, and he began to be perceived as one of the most promising poets. After the unification of Belarus, he was under suspicion of the Soviet authorities, despite the fact that he was considered a communist. Several times the threat of arrest hung over him, but this did not prevent him from continuing his active literary work.
War years
Maxim Tank, a Belarusian poet, devoted a significant place in his work to military topics. For example, he composed the poem Yanuk Sialiba, and also released several collections of poems, among which are Praz Vognen Nebashil. The military theme occupied a prominent place in his work in the following decades, but the poet himself considered them not strong enough and expressive.
Features of creativity
Maxim Tank, whose biography, creativity, the bibliography of which is the subject of this review, received popular love as the creator of fairy tales in the folklore spirit, as well as works on everyday subjects. Here you can specify his compositions such as “Ehau Cossack Bai”, “Horse and Leu” and others. In 1970, he released a book written in the form of a diary. Critics note the following features of his language and style:
- fluency in poetic form;
- he did not always adhere to classical rules and canonical requirements, but he wrote in a characteristic manner peculiar to him alone, often resorting to a white verse.
He was very sensitive to his native language and, with his whole life, work and social activity, strove to affirm its lasting value. Incidentally, he himself was fluent in Polish, and also knew Russian.
Editorial and community work
M. Tank was actively involved in editorial work. It has already been said that he began his literary work with the release of his own manuscript journal. In the post-war years, he edited the satirical magazine "Leader", then moved to another publication, which was called "Polymya". He was a member of the union of writers of the country, was the chairman of his board. The poet also worked in the Supreme Council, which suggests that by the post-war time he had finally developed as a recognized author. This is evidenced by the fact that he received the title of national poet. Maxim Tank, whose biography, creativity, awards and titles indicate that he deservedly enjoyed the love and respect of readers, made a significant contribution to the development of the Belarusian language, for which he received Stalin and Lenin awards, and also became a Hero of Socialist Labor.
Artworks
The political views of the poet are still debated. On the one hand, he positioned himself as a communist, but at the same time he came from a family of a wealthy peasant (who at that time were called fists), he was brought up in a capitalist country, for which he was constantly suspected of the party. Nevertheless, folk themes occupy one of the leading places in his work. He was primarily interested in the sketches of national life and the life of ordinary people.
For example, he devoted one of his first poems, “Narach,” to the strike of ordinary fishermen because they were forbidden to fish under ice. One of the early collections of his poems is called "On the stages", then came the collection "Pad mast." Despite the fact that the main place in his work is occupied by philosophical themes, as well as a satirical genre, he writes on a military theme. Among these works can be called such as “Kab Vedal”, “At Daroza” and others. The poet died in 1995.
The literary activity of the poet should be considered and evaluated in line with the work of other such famous Belarusian poets as Y. Kupala and Y. Kolas. These authors glorified Belarusian poetry with their works. A common feature of their work is that they all made the main theme of their writings an image of popular life and everyday life of ordinary people, as well as the problem of war.