Svetlana Alexievich

Nobel laureate and oral historian chronicling modern suffering and courage.

Chronology: 1948-05-31 – Present

Origins & Early Life

Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian author, investigative journalist, and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time". She is the first writer from Belarus to receive the award. == Biography == Born in the west Ukrainian town of Stanislav (Ivano-Frankivsk since 1962) to a Belarusian father and a Ukrainian mother.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Both her parents were teachers; her father was also a village school principal. She spent her early childhood in Ukraine; the family then moved to Belarus. She visited her grandmother in Ukraine during summer holidays. After graduating from high school she worked as a reporter in several local newspapers. In 1972 she graduated from Belarusian State University and became a correspondent for the literary magazine Nyoman in Minsk (1976).

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Her first manuscript, Ya uyekhal iz derevni ('I left the village') was blocked for publication by Soviet censorship. In 1989 Alexievich published Zinky Boys, a book about the fallen soldiers who had returned in zinc coffins from the Soviet-Afghan War of 1979 – 1989. She was accused of "defamation...

Source: Wikipedia