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Lithuanian literature is Literature from Lithuania . HISTORY In contrast to other European languages, most literary works didn't begin until the 16th century. In the year 1547 Martynas Mažvydas had compiled and published the first printed Lithuanian book ''The Simple Words of Catechism'', that was the beginning of literature and print in Lithuanian. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Lithuanian literature was mostly religious. The 18th century witnessed a modest increase in secular publications, including dictionaries. Kristijonas Donelaitis wrote the first Lithuanian poem ''Metai'' (The Seasons) thus laying the foundations for Lithuanian poetry. The University Of Vilnius promoted the usage of the language and creation of literary works in the first half of the 19th century. However, Russia announced a 40-year ban on the printing of Lithuanian Language for fear of an uprising from Lithuanian nationalists. As a result, the literature, whose main theme had now become that of independence and liberty, was secretly being transferred to and published in East Prussia . 20TH CENTURY LITERATURE When the ban against printing the Lithuanian language was lifted in 1904 , various European literary movements such as Symbolism , Impressionism , and Expressionism each in turn influenced the work of Lithuanian writers. The first period of Lithuanian independence (1918-40) gave them the opportunity to look into themselves and their characters more deeply, as their primary concerns were no longer political. An outstanding figure of the early 20th century was Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius , a novelist and dramatist. His many works include ''Dainavos salies senu zmoniu padavimai'' (Old Folks Tales of Dainava, 1912) and the historical dramas '' Šarūnas'' (1911), ''Skirgaila'' (1925), and ''Mindaugo mirtis'' (The Death of Mindaugas, 1935). Petras Vaičiūnas was another popular playwright, producing one play each year during the 1920s and '30s. Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas wrote lyric poetry, plays, and novels, including the novel ''Altoriu Sesely'' (In the Shadows of the Altars, 3 vol., 1933), a remarkably powerful autobiographical novel. Oskaras Milašius (Oscar Vladislas De Lubicz Milosz) (1877-1939) is a paradoxical and interesting phenomenon in Lithuanian culture. He never lived in Lithuania but was born and spent his childhood in Cereja (near Mogilev , Belarus ) and graduated from Lycée Janson De Sailly in Paris . His longing for his fatherland was more metaphysical. Having to choose between two conflicting countries — Lithuania and Poland — he preferred Lithuania which for him was an idea even more than a fatherland. In 1920 when France recognized the independence of Lithuania, he was appointed officially as Charge d’Affairs for Lithuania. He published: 1928, a collection of 26 Lithuanian songs; 1930, ''Lithuanian Tales and Stories''; 1933, ''Lithuanian Tales''; 1937, ''The origin of the Lithuanian Nation'', in which he tried to persuade the reader that Lithuanians have the same origin as Jews from the Pyrenees peninsula. Internationally known author of satire and books for children Vytautė Žilinskaitė (b. 1930 in Kaunas ) graduated in 1955 from Vilnius University’s faculty of history and philology with a degree in journalism. She has been publishing her work since 1950. In 1961, she released ''Don’t Stop, Little Hour'', a collection of poetry that approaches prose. Žilinskaitė has created the beginning of new trends in Lithuanian humour with her satire, and in addition writes no small amount for children. In her tales and plays, Žilinskaitė displays the requisite knowledge of children’s psychology and everyday life, pregnant imagination, and conventional situations. Žilinskaitė was awarded the State Prize of the Republic in 1972 for her humoristic work and in 1979 for the children’s book ''The Robot and the Moth'', and in 1964 she was given the Journalists’ Union prize. She has received the Šarūnas Marčiulionis prize for the best work of children’s literature on two occasions (1997 and 2001). Poet and essayist Tomas Venclova was born in Klaipėda just before World War II. He began publishing poems while still in his teens. On graduating Vilnius University, he stayed on to teach there. Because of his outspoken membership in Lithuanian Helsinki Group which monitored Soviet violations of human rights in Lithuania, Venclova was threatened with a number of sanctions, but finally was allowed to emigrate. He has since settled in the United States and is currently teaching at Yale University . Although a widely published poet, Venclova is not very prolific. ''Sign of Speech'' was the only volume of his poetry published in Lithuania, prior to his leaving the country in 1977. Two more books consisting of poems and translations have appeared in the United States, along with a volume of polemical essays which reflect his involvement in dissident politics. A retrospective collection of his poems was published in Vilnius in 1992. Venclova's spirited re-engagement with the modes and subjects of a cosmopolitan classical tradition has influenced a substantial generation of Lithuanian poets. His dry witty style is marked by a highly controlled irony which holds out an effective resilience against the bleak eventuality of his appraisals. By the necessarily high-contrast backlight of historical consciousness, his understatement is luminously Audenesque. Venclova is a vigorous essayist and has published articles in English and Polish, as well as Lithuanian, on cultural and political topics. His extensive and highly original study, Aleksander Wat (Yale, New Haven), was published in 1996. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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