Jim Dingley (born 24 March 1942) is a researcher and promoter of

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

culture in the UK as well as a translator of

Belarusian literature Belarusian literature () is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by speakers (not necessarily native speakers) of the Belarusian language. History Pre-17th century Belarusian literature was formed from the common basis of Kievan Rus' ...

Early life

Dingley was born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

on 24 March 1942. After studies of Russian and other Slavonic languages at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, he became a lecturer at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

and then the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Researcher and promoter of Belarusian culture

Dingley became involved with Belarusian studies in 1965, after meeting Fr Alexander Nadson. He gave regular lectures at the Anglo-Belarusian Society and contributed a number of articles to The

Journal of Belarusian Studies The ''Journal of Belarusian Studies'' (formerly the ''Journal of Byelorussian Studies'') is an English language academic journal in the field of Belarusian studies. It was described as “one of the longest lasting Belarusian publishing projects ...

. He chaired the Anglo-Belarusian Society for several decades and was one of the original trustees of the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library, serving in that capacity for nearly 40 years.

Translator of Belarusian literature

Dingley translated into English a number of Belarusian works, including: * �
Letter to a Russian Friend: a 'samizdat' Publication from Soviet Byelorussia
�� (“Письмо русскому другу ”) by ; * “This Country Called Belarus” (“Краінa Беларусь”) by

Uładzimir Arłou Uładzimir Arłou, known as U. A. Arlou (, ; born 25 August 1953 in Polotsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Belarusian historian, writer, politician, and poet. He is chairman of the Belarusian PEN International PEN International ( ...

; * “Down Among the Fishes” (“Рыбін горад”) by Natalka Babina; * “A Large Czeslaw Milosz With a Dash of Elvis Presley” (“Шмат Чэслава Мілаша, крыху Элвіса Прэслі”) by ; * "Alindarka's Children: Things Will Be Bad" (“Дзеці Аліндаркі”) by

Alhierd Bacharevič Alhierd Bakharevich (, born 31 January 1975 in Minsk) is a Belarusian writer and translator. Born Oleg Ivanovich Bacharevič, he adopted his Pen name, nom-de-plume (which refers to Algirdas, the medieval ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) in ...

. In an interview in 2020, he mentioned that “the difficulties arise when there are specifically Belarusian aspects of the text that may need to be explained to Anglophone readers”.

Awards

Dingley was awarded a in 1991 and a Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal in 2019 for his significant contribution to Belarusian studies. In January 2023, Dingley received a PEN Translates award for his translation of ''Zekameron'' by

Maxim Znak Maxim Aliaksandravič Znak (; born 4 September 1981) is a Belarusian lawyer and politician, part of Viktar Babaryka's team, lawyer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council formed during the 2020� ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dingley, Jim 1942 births Living people Belarusian literature Slavists Belarus–United Kingdom relations