Friends and colleagues presented to Uladzimir Matskievich a book, writtten by himself

On the 31^st of May at 6 p.m. a presentation of a new book by Uladzimir Matskevich "Don’t think about a foxy-red and blind platypus" was going to take place in an ethnic restaurant "Good thoughts" situated on the  Mogilevskaja, 12 street. But 20 minutes before the start the staff of the restaurant apologized and announced that the presentation of the book is not desirable. Nevertheless he event was held. 

The book "Don’t think about a foxy-red and blind platypus" is remarkable because it was projected and published without the author ‘s participation as a gift of friends and colleagues to philosopher Uladzimir Matskevich for his birthday (on the 14^th ofMay he has reached the age of 55).

An employee of the Humanitarian Technologies Agency Julia Galinovskaja talks about what has happened in the restaurant :

"Those who have came on the presentation have heard the words that "due to reasons that are beyond their control…”. So, somebody has telephoned to the ethnic restaurant and told that the presentation was not desirable.”

The reporter:"Did you pre-ordered the lodgement?"

"Yes, we rented the café several days before, we have made an advance payment. Till that moment, everything was o’k.  As far as I have understood, the call took place no earlier than half an hour before the beginning of presentation. The staff has been deeply apologizing, they felt really sorry for this situation.”

The presentation has been urgently transferred to the office of the Humanitarian Technologies Agency. I’m talking with a friend of Uladzimir Matskevich, a poet and designer Michal Aniempadystau.

The reporter:"Was the event spoiled by this cause? Did you like the presentation itself, how was the atmosphere?"

Aniempadystau: "Naturally, we did not call it off. 20 seconds before I took the microphone, Mr. Mackiewich talked about this, that the stream of thought can’t be banned. The presentation was just a little less officious than it could be. This was all reminiscent of a friendly meeting, as not only colleagues of Vladimir Matskevich, not just fans of his work, but first of all, his friends were here today."

The crucial point to the entire collection of issues is the role and place of the philosopher, intellectual, metodologist in Belarus.

The book "Don’t think about a foxy-red and blind platypus"  is a collection of texts by Uladzimir Matskevich, which cover the 16-years’ period of his journalistic activities - since the 1994.

Introduction to the book was written by a culturologist Maxim Zhbankou:

"This is actually a collection of texts by Vladimir Matskevich, written on different occasions, in different situations, but that has not previously been published, at least in the format of the book. On the very presentation Mackiewich said that he was definitely surprised by the book’s birth; but if he really did it by himself, he would have done it roughly in the same way. This is actually a vision of the of Mr. Matskevitch’s person in the light of his apprentices’s and colleagues’s view. That is a compilation of texts of Matskevitch made for Matskevich, but outside of his control and censorship."

by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty 

Photo: Yasia Karalevich-Kartel