On December 10, the library hosted the presentation of the first Belarusian translation of the Finnish national epic Kalevala.
The epic Kalevala in the translation of Jakub Lapatka was released in November by the publishing house of Zmicier Kolas. Unlike some other translations of the Kalevala into foreign languages, the Belarusian translation is made directly from Finnish and perfectly conveys all the nuances of the original: the language, the tone and the figurative world.
The Kalevala is the national epic of Finland based on Karelian-Finnish folk songs and poems, collected and processed by the outstanding Finnish poet Elias Lönnrot. The first edition of the Kalevala appeared in 1835, 180 years ago. During this time, the Finnish epic has been translated into more than 60 languages.
The appearance of the Kalevala has played an important role in the development of Finnish society, having become a cornerstone of the Finnish national consciousness. And today, the Kalevala is a source of inspiration for many public figures and artists: painters, composers and writers. So, the Finnish epic inspired John R.R. Tolkien to write the novel The Lord of the Rings.
The event gathered the Minister of Culture of Belarus Barys Sviatloǔ , the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finlad in Lithuania and Belarus Harri Mäki-Reinikka , the Director of the National Library of Belarus Raman Matulski, the Head of the Liaison Office of Finland in Belarus Lauri Pullola , editor Zmicier Kolas and translator Jakub Lapatka.
During the event guests could view the art exhibition “The Kalevala trough the Eyes of Russian Artists”, which is the result of the join project of the association "Kalevala" (Helsinki) and the Finnish Institute (St. Petersburg). The exhibition is timed to the 180th anniversary of Kalevala and will run until 17 January, 2015.
For more info, please, call: (+375 17) 293 28 33, 293 28 23.
Е-mail: pr@nlb.by
