Valiantsin Akudovich (1950), Belarusian: Валянцін Акудовіч
Belarusian writer, philosopher and literary critic.
After having worked in a number of institutions that were far from literature, Akudovich entered the literary and philosophical arena in the 1990’s. His literary works usually present a combination of philosophical reflections and fiction. As a writer and a philosopher he is deeply concerned by the way a human being exists in the world and communicates with it. Akudovich is the author of such books as “I Don’t Exist. Reflections Between Ruins of Humanity” (1998), “To Destroy Paris” (2004), “Dialogues with God” (2006), “Code of Absence. Basics of Belarusian mentality”. Several works by Akudovich were published in the USA, Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and other countries. His book “Dialogues with God” was translated into Polish (2008).
In 2012, his latest book called “Book about Nothing” was published. As the author described it, it is the culmination of his reflections started in the essay “I Don’t Exist”, where he contemplated about The Nothing and The Absent. In the novel, he addresses or even controverts all the previous philosophical tradition, from Parmenides to Heidegger and Sartre.
Akudovich received several awards, ranging from military medals to awards from the Belarusian PEN-Center and the Hlinyany Vyales award.