Ihar Kulikoŭ (; born January 22, 1988, Minsk) is a Belarusian poet and translator.
Biography
Ihar Kulikoŭ was born on January 22, 1988, in Minsk. He graduated from the Faculty of Philology of the Belarusian State University with a degree in Romance-Germanic Philology (English Department) in 2010. Kulikoŭ worked as an English language teacher at the Belarusian State Academy of Arts and also taught private Sanskrit classes (2014-2021).
Literature works
Kulikoŭ is a poet and translator.McMillin, Arnold. The belarusian language in the twenty-first century as reflected in the verse of young poets. Studia Białorutenistyczne. Lublin : UMCS, 2015. Vol. 9. Pp. 203-213. http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/sb.2024.18.95-119Panfilava, Anastasiya. Language experiment in Belarusian philosophical poetry. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philology. 2017. No. 3. Pp. 37-41.McMillin, Arnold. The Heritage of Janka Bryĺ: Lyrical Miniatures by Young Belarusian Writers. Studia Białorutenistyczne. 2017. No 11. Pp. 195-208. https://doi.org/10.17951/sb.2017.11.195.McMillin, Arnold. The Fate of the Belarusian Literary Language over Half a Century. Acta Albaruthenica. 2023. Vol. 23. Pp. 63-72. https://doi.org/10.31338/2720-698Xaa.23.3.McMillin, Arnold. Three Generations of Belarusian Historical Fiction in Prose and Verse: Inspiration and Iconoclasm. Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski. 2023. Vol. 14 (2). Pp. 285-301. https://doi.org/10.31648/pw.9717 His works have appeared in the literary journals Dziejaslou and ARCHE. He is the author of seven poetry collections: “Паварот на мора” [A Turn Toward the Sea] (Minsk, 2011),A Turn Toward the Sea (Minsk, 2011) “Свамова” [Svamova] (Minsk, 2013),Svamova (Minsk, 2013) “Сівер-гара” [Mount North] (Minsk, 2015),Mount North (Minsk, 2015) “Валадар загадак” [The Lord of Riddles] (Minsk, 2017),The Lord of Riddles (Minsk, 2017) “Храм ракі” [A Temple of the River] (Minsk, 2019),A Temple of the River (Minsk, 2019) “Вецер нішто і рэха цьмы” [The Wind of Nothing and the Echo of Darkness] (Minsk, 2021),The Wind of Nothing and the Echo of Darkness (Minsk, 2021) and “Нетутэйшая далечыня” [A Distance Not of This Place] (Warsaw, 2025).A Distance Not of This Place (Warsaw, 2025)
Ihar Kulikoŭ translates from English and Sanskrit into Belarusian. His translations from English include Leaf by Niggle (Minsk, 2009) and the trilogy The Lord of the Rings (Warsaw, 2023-2024) by J. R. R. Tolkien,The Lord of the Rings has been translated into Belarusian (2023) Why do hobbits live in Belarusian villages, and elves speak Old Belarusian? The translator of The Lord of the Rings answers all the questions (2024)The third book in John Tolkien's legendary trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, has become available in Belarusian translation (2024) Pulp (Minsk, 2018) by Charles Bukowski; Selected Poems of Robert Frost (Minsk, 2023),Selected Poems of Robert Frost published as a book in Belarusian for the first time (2024) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Warsaw, 2025) by an anonymous 14th-century author,Medieval English poem translated into Belarusian (2025) Dune by Frank Herbert (Warsaw, 2025),Januškievič Publishing House plans to publish Dune in Belarusian (2024) and from Old English, Old English Poetry (Minsk, 2019).
His translations from Sanskrit include the Rigveda. Mandala I (Minsk, 2016);One of the oldest texts, the Rigveda, has been translated into Belarusian. Our word. No 8 (1263). P. 8. Kalidasa. The Cloud Messenger (Minsk, 2017);Results of the year: translated poetry (2017) The Tale of Shakuntala (Minsk, 2018);Presentation of the book The Tale of Shakuntala (2018) Bhartrihari. Selected Poems (Minsk, 2019);Bhartrihari. Selected Poems (2019) and Mahabharata: Selected Tales (Minsk, 2022).To the treasury of Belarusian translated literature (2022)
Recognition and Awards
Laureate of the Carlos Sherman Literary Prize in the Poetry category (2009).Carlos Sherman Literary Prize (2009) Diploma recipient of the Maksim Bahdanovič Debut Prize (2011).Ihar Kulikoŭ (2011) Laureate of the Maksim Bahdanovič Debut Prize (Special Prize category) for the book Rigveda. Mandala I (2018).Maksim Bahdanovič Debut Prize (2018) Laureate of the Carlos Sherman Literary Prize in the Poetry Translation category (2022) for the book Old English Poetry.Carlos Sherman Award winners (2022) Laureate of the Natallia Arsiennieva Prize (2026) for the book A Distance Not of This Place.Ihar Kulikoŭ wins Natallia Arsiennieva Prize (2026)
Bibliography
Poetry collections Паварот на мора [A Turn Toward the Sea]. Minsk, 2011, 2017. 94 pp. Свамова [Svamova]. Minsk : Medysont, 2013. 92 pp. Сівер-гара [Mount North]. Minsk : Medysont, 2015. 70 pp. Валадар загадак [The Lord of Riddles]. Minsk : Medysont, 2017. 100 pp. Храм ракі [A Temple of the River]. Minsk : A. M. Januškievič, 2019. 158 pp. Вецер нішто і рэха цьмы [The Wind of Nothing and the Echo of Darkness]. Minsk : A. M. Januškievič, 2021. 136 pp. Нетутэйшая далечыня [A Distance Not of This Place]. Warsaw : A. M. Januškievič, 2025. 170 pp. Горад N. [City N.]. Warsaw : A. M. Januškievič, 2026. 164 pp.
Translations Дж. Р. Р. Толкін [J. R. R. Tolkien]. Ліст Ніґла [Leaf by Niggle]. Translated from English by I. M. Kulikoŭ // ARCHE. Minsk, 2009. No. 10 (85). Pp. 105-120. Антон Кротаў [Anton Krotov]. Практыка вольных падарожжаў [A Practical Guidebook for Free Travellers]. Translated from Russian. Moscow, 2009, 2016. 84 pp. Рыґведа [Rigveda]. Кола І [Mandala I]. Translated from Sanskrit. Minsk: Medysont, 2016. 592 pp. Калідаса [Kalidasa]. Воблачны вястун [The Cloud Messenger]. Translated from Sanskrit. Minsk: Zmitser Kolas, 2017. 92 pp. Аповед пра Шакунталу [The Tale of Shakuntala]. Translated from Sanskrit. Minsk: A. M. Januškievič, 2018. 218 pp. Чарлз Букоўскі [Charles Bukowski]. Чытво [Pulp]. Translated from English. Minsk: Lohvinau, 2018. 484 pp. Бгартрыгары [Bhartrhari]. Выбраныя вершы [Selected Poems]. Translated from Sanskrit. Minsk: Zmitser Kolas, 2019. 80 pp. Стараангельская паэзія [Old English Poetry]. Translated from Old English. Minsk: A. M. Januškievič, 2019. 178 pp. Магабгарата : выбраныя аповеды [Mahabharata: Selected Stories] / Translated from Sanskrit by Ihar Kulikou. Minsk: A. M. Januškievič, 2022. 484 pp. Роберт Фрост [Robert Frost]. Выбраныя вершы [Selected Poems]. Translated from English. Minsk: Encyklapediks, 2023. 110 pp. Дж. Р. Р. Толкін [J. R. R. Tolkien]. Валадар пярсцёнкаў. Брацтва Пярсцёнка [The Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship of the Ring]. Translated from English. Warsaw: A. M. Januškievič, 2023. 574 pp. Дж. Р. Р. Толкін [J. R. R. Tolkien]. Валадар Пярсцёнкаў. Дзве Вежы [The Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers]. Translated from English. Warsaw: A. M. Januškievič, 2024. 494 pp. Дж. Р. Р. Толкін [J. R. R. Tolkien]. Валадар Пярсцёнкаў. Вяртанне Караля [The Lord of the Rings. The Return of the King]. Translated from English. Warsaw: A. M. Januškievič, 2024. 596 pp. Сэр Гавейн і Зялёны Рыцар [Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]. Translated from English. Warsaw: A. M. Januškievič, 2025. 232 pp. Фрэнк Герберт [Frank Herbert]. Дзюна [Dune]. Translated from English. Warsaw: A. M. Januškievič, 2025. 750 pp.
References
External links Ihar Kulikoŭ: News on the bellit.info website Ihar Kulikoŭ: Profile on the website of the online magazine PrajdziSviet Kulikoŭ, Ihar Mikalajevič: Profile on the lit-bel.org website Ihar Kulikoŭ. Zoom presentation of the book Mahabharata: Selected Stories Ihar Kulikou: “We are creating a pure language to expand the circle of Belarusian speakers” A Creative Workshop with Ihar Kulikou “Piatroŭščyna-Inšynia”. A conversation with the poet Ihar Kulikoŭ Why do hobbits live in Belarusian villages, and elves speak Old Belarusian? The translator of The Lord of the Rings answers all the questions Language as the Hero of the Epic: Tolkien in Belarusian Translations