Antanas Vaičiulaitis

Vaičiulaitis in 1980s

Antanas Augustinas Vaičiulaitis (1906–1992) was a Lithuanian fiction writer of the 20th century, and also known for his literary criticism and translations. His most prominent work is the novel Valentina.

Biography

A Vaičiulaitis was born on June 23, 1906 in Didieji Šelviai, near Vilkaviškis, in the Suvalkija region, then part of Congress Poland. He attended a primary school in Vilkaviškis, and in 1919–1927, he attended Žiburys high school also in Vilkaviškis. His poetry was first published in 1925 in the journal Krivulė. In 1927, he enrolled at the University of Lithuania in Kaunas, where he studied Lithuanian and French languages and literature. After finishing his studies at the university, for a short while he taught at the Kaunas Jesuit school. From 1935–1938, he enrolled in advanced studies of French literature at the University of Grenoble and at the Sorbonne. Returning to Kaunas, from 1938–1940, he worked at the news service ELTA and taught new Lithuanian literature in the Theology and Philosophy Department at Vytautas Magnus University. He traveled frequently to Europe.

In 1940, Vaičiulaitis was appointed to diplomatic service at the Lithuanian Embassy in Rome, and then emigrated to the United States. In 1941–1945, he taught at the Marianapolis Preparatory School. In 1943, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force, and for health reasons received an honorable discharge. In 1945–1947 he edited the journal Amerika and from 1947–1951 taught French language at the University of Scranton. In 1951, Vaičiulaitis began work for the United States Information Agency (USIA), for the Lithuanian service of the Voice of America, from which he retired in 1976. He died on July 22, 1992 in Washington, D.C.

Works

References

• LMS IC: Classic Lithuanian Literature Anthology
• Antologija - Classic Lithuanian Literature Anthology
• Virginija Paplauskienė, 2006, Antanas Vaičiulaitis: Archyvai, Kaunas: Maironio lietuvių literatūros muziejus.

Further reading

• Šilbajoris, Rimvydas (2002). A Short History of Lithuanian Literature. Baltos Lankos. pp. 86–90. ISBN 9789955429760.
• Kubilius, Vytautas (1997). Lithuanian literature. Vaga. pp. 234–36. ISBN 9785415005031.
• Serafin, Steven (2000-03-03). Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth-century Eastern European writers (vol. 220). Gale Group. pp. 297–302. ISBN 9780787631291.
• Šilbajoris, Rimvydas (2002). A Short History of Lithuanian Literature. Baltos Lankos. p. 90. ISBN 9789955429760.
• Antanaitis, Algirdas Titus (1997). Lietuvių egzodo literatūra: 1945-1990 (in Lithuanian). Vaga. p. 225. ISBN 9785415004454.