For 20 years, the "Library of Freedom" series saw the light of nine dozen publications about Belarusian politics, language, history, society, journalism, prison, health and much more.

Today we are starting to introduce you to our publishing product.

By the way, every book is available in digital format.

The first letter to those who can read.

The country of poets

You cannot be Belarusian, live in Prague and not publish books.

The Belarusian service is the only one of the three dozen editorial offices of Radio Svaboda that has its own library.

You can say the opposite - "Library" includes Radio Svaboda.

All books were published as a result of transmissions and editorial projects.

Two decades, 90 editions, three Jerzy Gedroits awards, the Ales Adamowicz award for the entire "Library" and several awards named after him for individual books, awards for the best prison, historical, documentary works, for digital editions...

"Svaboda" books gathered hundreds of thousands of audiences in the capital and non-capital halls, were discussed in intimate conversations in the quarters, were read in prisons and translated into foreign languages.

Here is just one of the thousands of letters to the editor that came from a young reader from a village in Hrodna:

Dear Svoboda!

I want to get the book "How?" by S. Dubauts, so that I can use it to educate my parents and especially my grandfathers.

They will surely listen to her lyrics from my mouth!".

The publications of "Svaboda" are stored in the Library of Congress of the USA, the Czech National Library, in the libraries of Belarus, and in European and American universities.

The books were sent to listeners to order, they could be obtained at the presentations, and if someone did not have enough copies, they are available on the svaboda website.

org.

Sometimes readers printed out the texts, bound them together, and thus the self-publishing of the Internet era was born.

And now everyone can download books in electronic format to their computers, readers or mobile phones.

"Liberty of Freedom is a holiday that is always with you.

Every Saturday this December, I will be presenting several editions of the Library - join us!

Alexander Lukashuk, librarian of Svoboda

The country of poets

"Poem for Freedom"

is the first book of the "Library of Freedom".

It was published in 2002 and could not but be a book of poetry - Belarus is truly a country of poets.

What we were convinced of when, at the beginning of the new century, we asked listeners to write a poem on the topic of freedom — what it is, how, why.

The editorial office received more than a thousand poems from Belarus and three dozen countries.

The book consisted of 365 works.

Written by radio listeners, they were broadcast daily throughout 2001.

Among the authors were Nobel laureates and exiled poets

, the youngest was 10 years old, the oldest was 92. Poet Valyantina Aksak, who took care of poets and the program, prepared this book together with linguist

Alexandra

Makovik

.

Then they were joined by the unforgettable English poet

Vera Rich

from London, and this collection was published in her brilliant English translation.

This book can be read and listened to.

Comerton "Libraries" - tune in!

  • Poem for Freedom (.pdf)

  • Poem for Freedom (YouTube, audiobook)

***

"Dulina from Baradulin"

is poetry, but not only that.

The book is made up of readings, epigrams, mini-odes to "Freedom" - some of them are already engraved on granite monuments.

In addition to the portrait gallery of the editorial staff, captured in epigrammatic rhymes, the book of the funniest Belarusian poet

Ryhor Baradulin

includes essays, including the scandalous non-fiction study "How Belarusians have sex".

Because you can't hide the truth - make sure!

  • Dulina from Baradulin (.pdf)

  • Dulina by Baradulin (Soundcloud)

***

"One Hundred Bards of Freedom"

is not a book, but a disc.

Every decent "Library" must have a multimedia department, and ours is no exception.

For two years, Zmytro Bartosik

's program was broadcast on the airwaves of "Night Freedom"

, in which he spoke with poets and musicians from all over Belarus, who came to the studio with guitars and performed their songs.

The disk contains half a thousand songs and conversations with the aces of guitar poetry.

It is such wealth and happiness that neither words can be said nor keyboard can be described - it is worth listening to!

  • One Hundred Bards of Freedom (Soundcloud)

***

"Sauka and Grishka"

is the pinnacle of Belarusian satirical musical poetry.

Witty commentary, scathing arguments, absurdity as the norm, a brilliant feature and exciting theater with clear characters and collisions — and all this in a couple of minutes.

The author of the masterpieces ,

Levon Volsky

, sang with two voices at once in the satirical duet "Sauka and Grishka", which was released several times on DVD, because in addition to the audio cycle, it had its own animation.

Those who have ears will hear, those who have eyes will cry from laughter, those who have friends will share the link!

  • Sauka and Grishka (YouTube)

***

"Unfunny Pictures"

is the first non-format "Biblioteka" album, which is the size of two books, and not only because it combines poems and images.

Every weekday on Svoboda's website for five years satirical drawings by the artist

DeLoze

were published , which showed the Belarusian (and not only) reality without cosmetics and without pathos, but sometimes brilliantly, sometimes mysteriously and always aptly.

An exhibition of images from this album was exhibited in Prague, in a park on the Straletsky Island in the middle of the Vltava River - the number of smiles in the Czech capital jumped to the level of "Three Švejkas" on a three-point scale.

In the album, which collected the best pictures, the mysterious artist meets the mysterious poet

DaSlyoz

, and together they play the comic opera of life - we invite you to smile!

  • Funny pictures (.pdf)

***

"Speaks Radio Liberation"

.

And at the end of the surprise - another first book.

Only not Radio Svaboda, but Radio Liberation, as the radio station was called in 1954.

"Radio Vyzvalenje speaks..." is a reprint edition of the first collection of radio broadcasts "from the free world for relatives", which was published in Munich in 1956 "by the efforts of the Belarusian Editorial Board of Radio Vyzvalenje".

The texts look like prose but read like poetry.

Not only what is written, but also what is spoken remains, if it is said at Svoboda - see for yourself!

  • Speak Radio Liberation (.pdf)

There will be a continuation.