Six Lithuanian Poets (New Voices from Europe & Beyond) - Softcover

Alsianka, Eugenijus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 190461485X ISBN 13: 9781904614852

Publisher: ARC Publications, 2008

Synopsis

The poets whose work is included in this anthology were born in the 1960s, when Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union, and mostly started publishing after the country achieved independence in 1991. Unlike their predecessors, the poets of this generation are not concerned with political themes but rather with issues of aesthetics and existential quests. While each follows his or her unique path, they all share a penchant for experimentation and an ironic, post-modern perspective, following European literary trends rather than domestic poetic traditions.

About this title

About the Author:

EUGENIJUS ALISANKA(b. 1960 in Barnaul, Russia) is a poet, essayist and translator. Following his graduation from Vilnius University with a degree in mathematics, he worked for the Culture and Art Institute of Lithuania and then, from 1994-2002, as a director of international programmes in the Lithuanian Writers' Union and a director of an international poetry festival A"Spring of PoetryA". Since 2003 he has been working as editor-in-chief of the magazine Vilnius, published in English as The Vilnius Review. Alisanka is a member of the Lithuanian Writers' Union's Board and of PEN. He has published five books of poetry and two collections of essays. In 1992, Equinox (1991) won the Zigmas Gele Award. The Return of Dionysus (2001) received the Lithuanian Minstry of Culture Award.Alisanka has translated poetry by Zbigniew Herbert, Wislawa Szymborska, Carolyn Forshe, Dannie Abse, Bernardine Evaristo, Jerome Rothenberg, Desmond Egan, Ales Debeljak, Marcin Swietlicki, Jacek Podsiadlo, Michael Schmidt, Pascale Petit, John Freeman and others. He has also received a 'Spring of Poetry' award for translation of poetry. His work has been translated into English, French, Polish, Swedish, Russian, Finnish, German and other languages. Alisanka lives and works in Vilnius. DAIVA CEPAUSKAITE (b. 1967 in Marijampole) is a poet and dramatist and a member of the Lithuanian Theatre Association and the Lithuanian Writers' Union. She graduated from the Kaunas Medical Academy as a physician. She also took acting classes at the Kaunas Youth Musical Studio. Since 1990 she has been employed full-time as an actress by the Kaunas Youth Chamber Theatre. Cepauskaite has published three collections of verse and is also known as an author of plays for children. Her dramatic pieces have been staged by Lithuanian theatres. The Birthday of Pimpe (1990), The Cold Heart (after the fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff, 1997) and The Nightingale (after the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen) were staged by the Kaunas Youth Chamber Theatre; while The Mystery of a Snowball (1999), When a Star is Falling (after the fairy tale by Andersen, 2001) and The Potato Tale (2001) were staged by the Kaunas Puppet Theatre. Her poetry has been translated into English, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Italian and other languages. At present, she resides and works in Kaunas.GINTARAS GRAJAUSKAS (b. 1966 in Marijampole) is a poet, playwright, essayist, novelist, editor. He won the Zigmas Gele Award for best first book of poems with Tattoo (1993). Another collection of his, Bone Pipe (1999), won both the Spring of Poetry and Simonaityte Awards. His works have been translated into English, German, Swedish and Polish among other languages. In addition to writing, Grajauskas works as editor of Klaipeda, a daily newspaper popular in Klaipeda City and the western part of Lithuania. He is responsible for the selection of literary works and promotion of young Lithuanian writers featured in Klaipeda's monthly literary supplement Drops of Amber. Having studied jazz at the State Conservatoire in Klaipeda, he also sings and plays the bass guitar in the band Kontrabanda.AIDAS MARCENAS (b. 1960 in Kaunas) is a poet, literary critic and essayist. He studied at the Lithuanian State Conservatories in both Vilnius and Klaipeda. He has been a member of the Lithuanian Writers' Union from 1993. He writes digests of periodical literature for various journals and has written reviews of poetry for the literary journal Metai. His debut collection of poetry, The Water Well, won the Zigmas Gele prize for the best first collection of 1988. His 1993 collection of poems, Dust, earned him the laureate's award at the 1994 A"Spring of PoetryA" festival. He won the J. Linde-Dobilas prize in 1999, and received the prestigious National Laureate's Award in 2005. Marcenas's poetry has been translated into Russian, Latvian, Polish, English, German, French, Swedish and other languages. He currently resides in Vilnius.KESTUTUS NAVAKAS (b. 1964 in Seiminiskes, Utenos region) is a poet, essayist, literary critic and translator. He served as chairperson of the Kaunas Young Writers' Section in 1987-1988 and, since 1993, has been a member of the Lithuanian Writers' Union. From 1994 to 1996 Navakas was culture columnist and literary critic for the newspapers Kauno diena and Noriu, and worked for Lithuanian State Television from 1998 to 1999 reviewing new books. He owned and ran a bookstore, Seven Solitudes, from 1996 until 2000 and, from 2002 to 2004, worked at Lithuanian State Television on the programme 'Culture House'. He currently writes for the weekly publication Siaures Atenai. Navakas made his literary debut in 1988 with a collection of poetry, A Falling One Has Wings. He has also published three other books of poetry, a collection of essays, and a collection of humorous literature. Navakas received the National Award of Culture and Arts and the Julijonas Linde-Dobilas Prize in 2006. He has translated the poetry of Walther von der Vogelweide, Else Lasker-Schuler, Ernst Jandl, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Byron, Aloysius Betrand and others. His translations also include several plays and libretti. Navakas's poetry has been translated into English, German, Swedish, Russian, Georgian and other languages.He resides and works in Kaunas.SIGITAS PARULSKIS (b. 1965 in Obeliai) is a poet, playwright and essayist. He studied Lithuanian language and literature at Vilnius University and currently lectures on Creative Writing at the Philology Faculty of Vilnius University. His first book, All That Out of Longing, was published in 1990. His other work includes several books of poetry, two books of essays, a collection of short stories and two novels. He is also the author of several plays and scripts for theatre. In 1991, Parulskis won the Zigmas Gele Award for the best literary debut of the year and in 1995 his poetry collection Of the Dead received the prestigious Jatvingian Award. His play From the Lives of the Dead earned him the 1996 Kristoforas Award for the best young artist's theatre play debut and in 2002 the novel Three Seconds of Heaven was recognised as best book of the year and given the Lithuanian Writers' Union Prize. In 2004, Parulskis received the National Prize in literature. Work by Parulskis has been translated into Russian, English, Latvian, Finnish, Polish, Czech, French, German, Greek, Swedish, Italian and other languages. He lives in Vilnius.

About this edition

• Publisher: ARC Publications
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 190461485X
• ISBN 13: 9781904614852
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176
• Editor: Alsianka Eugenijus