Janka Bryl was born on August 4, 1917, in Odessa in the family of a railway worker. Janka's father, Anton Danilavič, was born in the village of Zagorye in the Navahradak region. In 1922, the Bryl family returned to their father's homeland.
Here, in the Navahradak region, Janka Bryl finished the Polish seven-year school in the village of Turets. Then he entered the Navahradak gymnasium, but due to financial circumstances, the young boy could not continue his studies, that's why he started self-education.
Janka Bryl debuted with his poem in the magazine "The Way of Youth" in 1938. In addition, the young Janka Bryl created a drama group in his village, he staged plays and translated Russian and Polish writers for the theatrical repertoire.
In 1939, Janka Bryl was drafted into the Polish army, into the Marines. From September 1939 until the fall of 1941 he was held captive by the Germans. But he managed to escape and then joined a partisan detachment in his homeland.
After the war, Janka Bryl worked as an editor of the local newspaper in Mir, and then he moved to Minsk, where he worked in the magazines "Vožyk", "Maladość", "Polymya", etc.
In addition to his writing talent, Janka Bryl also had the talent of an interpreter from Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian. For example, he translated works by E. Ozheshko, L. Tolstoy, A. Dovzhenko, A. Chekhov, B. Prus, and others. Janka Bryl's works were also translated into many languages.
Among others, J. Bryl was awarded the title of People's Writer of Belarus, Honorary Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Janka Bryl ended his earthly journey on July 25, 2006. He was buried in the cemetery in Kalodziščy near Minsk.