My full name is Oleg Gromov-Korochansky. I was born in Minsk, Belarus in 1980. Having finished high school (1997), I went to the Belarusian State University (faculty of social sciences) and graduated in 2002. Now my work area is marketing, advertisement and sales.

By the time I was a student of the last course, I got an invitation to become a member of one of the most famous Belarusian rock-bands "Neuro Dubel". I successfully passed casting and, as a result, was selected as a musician necessary for the band. By then, this rock-band has also celebrated its 15-th anniversary. This, certainly, is a worthy parameter for any musical collective. The following two years were rather grasping, as there were some tours in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw, Prague, as well as in the main cities and towns of my native country. And especially I would like to mention our participation in the most significant festival of Belarusian rock-music “Basowishcha 2001, 2002”, which takes place every year in Grudek, Poland. With the lapse of time I decided to leave the band (for I had a different point of view on how music, lyrics or stage-acting in a body had to be actually done) and started to create instrumental music independently. I deeply believe that real music begins just where words come to an end.

Being involved in a musical life of my country, I never lost interest in literature. When a student, I was invited into the poetic group, called "New Age" which included the most progressive poets of our city. But my special interest was always English poetry. And I started to study it from such poets as W. Blake, J. Donn, R. Manners (W. Shakespeare), R. Frost, E. Thomas, W. H. Auden, T. S. Elliot, etc. From time to time I also turned to translating of modern poets from Russian into English. Among my contemporaries I appreciate such names as George Bartash, Marina Matveheva, Stanislav Boyko, Olga Lebedinskaya, Marina Akimova, Nika Alifanova, Marina Genchikmakher.

I was published under the pen name Veresk (heather) on www.poezia.org, www.nlo.gr, www.zhurnal.lib.ru, www.lito.ru and www.poetry.com. But, unfortunately, none of the mentioned portals provides necessary feedback concerning verses written in English. As to printed editions, they cannot be presently considered as an actual resource for publication, especially in our country, where practically all editions (papers, magazines, books, etc.) exist under the strongest ideological influence of our regime. Any independent point of view, in literature also is going to be nipped in the bud! This forces our most gifted people to leave the country or publish their works on Internet portals, sometimes even using pen names. For even Internet area somehow is planned to be controlled and subdued here, I reckon. So, the only printed edition in which a selection of my verses was published is the Texas poetic almanac "Leaves".

In 2006 I was invited to take part in the 20th Anniversary International Society of Poets Convention and Symposium (Las Vegas, Nevada). But, unfortunately, proceeding from the financial opportunities, I could not visit the given action.

I have never been abroad, but I consider Ireland to be my second Homeland. For while reading Irish poets, such as J. M. Synge, Dora Sigerson Shorter, W. B. Yeats, Thomas Moore, Arthur O’Shaughnessy and some others, I feel the high spirit of that land so deep within my heart, my soul, within my mind, that sometimes it draws me into tears – reading poems as well as watching pictures of that place. Photos of Ireland made by David Lyons I consider to be most picturesque ones I’ve ever seen. My soul belonged to that place in the previous life, there is no doubt! And I hope Ireland and me will finally unite in the life to come…