Lithuanian Collectors Coins 5 EURO COIN, © Bank of Lithuania, 2015 DEDICATED to Coins Photographed by Arūnas Baltėnas LITERATURE Designed by Liudas Parulskis
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a few words. Here there was adaptation, expansion of the boundaries of freedom and Oh my writing, so winding and twisted, a conscious e ort to preserve the native language. Lithuanian literature, written in As the wind blows you shall buzz again... the most di¡ cult conditions, continued to grow, mature, it signi¢ cantly contributed to the act of restoring Independence. From 1988–1989 the whole of literature began What is literature among all sorts of other worldly treasures? to include that, which had been banned by censure — the works of political prison- Let us remember the biographies of famous people. They ers (lagerininkai), exiles, immigrants, religious literature, translations of world literature often mention a book that determined their future way. 5 EURO COIN, Lithuanian that hadn’t been dear to the Soviets. It was openly said that part of the signi¢ cant Therefore, with this coin you can purchase a book that has DEDICATED TO LITERATURE the power to encourage you to ¯ y upwards. FROM THE SERIES Collectors literary works were written by writers who had to emigrate to the West (Jonas Aistis, “LITHUANIAN CULTURE” Bernardas Brazdžionis, Marius Katiliškis, Antanas Škėma and many others). It became Coins Valentinas Sventickas Silver Ag 925 clear that even those who were fostered by the regime couldn’t publish everything. Quality proof For example, a collection of poems by Salomėja Nėris, Prie didelio kelio (The High Diameter 28.70 mm Weight 12.44 g Road), was kept in a drawer from 1944 to 1994. One of the chapters was begun by the poet with the following two lines: On the edge of the coin: LIETUVOS KULTŪRA * LITERATURE* (LITHUANIAN CULTURE *LITERATURE*) Designed by Rytas Jonas Belevičius Mintage 4,000 pcs. Issued 2015 Information is available at the Bank of Lithuania Tel. +370 5 268 0316 El. p. [email protected] www.lb.lt The coin was minted at the UAB Lithuanian Mint www.lithuanian-mint.lt Lithuanian Collectors Coins 5 EURO COIN, © Bank of Lithuania, 2015 DEDICATED TO Coins photographed by Arūnas Baltėnas LITERATURE Designed by Liudas Parulskis The publication uses photographs by Ona Pajedaitė, Liudas Parulskis, Deimantė Rybakovienė (photograph of Justinas Marcinkevičius’ manuscript), illustrations by Stasys Krasauskas Published by the Bank of Lithuania, Gedimino pr. 6, LT-01103 Vilnius Printed by UAB LODVILA, www.lodvila.lt What is the di erence between the language of sion — brought in by the younger generation, ¢ ction literature and the language of interaction, which expressed themselves most in the past announcements? In literature, words have indi- two decades, such as Laura Sintija Černiauskaitė, rect meanings, express things that haven’t been Marius Ivaškevičius, Andrius Jakučiūnas, Herkus said, they grow into symbols and images, work Kunčius, Sigitas Parulskis, Kristina Sabaliauskaitė, literature in the harmony of sounds. The intonation and Rimvydas Stankevičius, Renata Šerelytė, Alvydas What is the ¢ rst thing that comes to our minds when we speak of the word literature? stylistic originality of the author’s language is Šlepikas. In the period of changes, an important We think of the art of words and glance towards our bookshelves. A corner for prose, important — an informational text doesn’t need phenomenon is the abundance of essays. An- poetry, drama. This is ¢ ction (belles-lettres). We perceive dictionaries, reference books, it at all. The clearest di erence is felt in reading other clear shift — the interest of readers in lit- non-¢ ction writing as something else. works in verse. erature of fact. The ¢ eld of entertainment lecture What is literature, as an art among other art? It stands out. Its only instrument is lan- The word literature, carved into a coin, may seem materials is expanding. Literature is disclaiming guage, and through language understanding of the world is expressed. This way litera- like a paradox. This is because money marks its ideological services, didactics, boosting of its ture becomes a mirror of the conciousness of people and the passing of time. usefulness, while literature — does it have any aesthetic purpose. This is its modern perception. It would be ¯ at if we were to forget history and those use and does it aim to have one? No, it rather The primary organiser of literary life is the Lithua- meanings of concepts that do not disappear. Literature for a long time was the name is drawn away from practical use and almost nian Writers Union (Lietuvos rašytojų sąjunga). It for everything that was written, as well as the oral creations of all nations, folklore. The seems to say that other, spiritual values are sub- cares for the professional and social situation of writers, which has established sever- passing of time strengthens some of these meanings, while others are weakened. But, stantially important. But some historical functions of literature — cognitive, education- al periodical literature publications, a publishing house and a Writers Club, which or- until now it wouldn’t be a mistake to include scienti¢ c works, journalism, etc. in litera- al, ideological — can be assessed from the aspect of usefulness. We couldn’t assess this ganises meetings with writers. The most ambitious annual event is the Poetry Spring, ture. Nevertheless, at the end of the 18th c., in the perception of the concept it became way the aesthetic function; we would have to speak only about the joy of reading. Only which has been taking place since 1965. clear that ¢ ction had the upper hand. At the same time it began to draw away from re- or even? Famed modern theoreticians, in attempting to answer the question as to what This multifaceted Lithuanian literary life seems exceptional, because it, if we were ligious writing. In literary re¯ ections the names of genres appeared: novel, short story, is the mission performed by literature, often ¢ nish profound considerations simply in to compare it to world literature, is very young. The ¢ rst Lithuanian book — Marty- poem, verse, play. The criteria of aesthetic value, which ¢ rst was of importance to the the following way: in reading good literature we become better. Let us assume, that for nas Mažvydas’ The Catechism — appeared only in 1547. Another amazing feature romanticists, continued to be de¢ ned. the general state of society, this would be useful. Although it is priceless. — the masterfully intricate forms of the works from Lithuania’s literary beginnings. In Lithuania’s history there wasn’t any other period similar to the present one in terms An acrostic is incorporated into Mažvydas’ preface in verse (thus making it the ¢ rst of the growth of ¢ ction and its publishing. All types and genres of literature are devel- Lithuanian poem): the ¢ rst letters of the 3–19 lines, when looked at vertically, reveal oping freely, there is a variety of topics, methods, styles. The value of the appearing the author’s name. Kristijonas Donelaitas, who between 1765 and 1775 dedicated publication and books is di erent and varied. his life to creative work, wrote the poem Metai (The Seasons) in hexameter, as if If, in drawing a view of modern Lithuanian literature, we will limit ourselves to the Lithuanian literary language and the art of versi¢ cation has been improved on for new works that appeared in the 21st c., we will see that a large part of them was writ- the longest time. These are signs of great creative energy and rapid growth, which ten by writers who were born in the previous century. Prose writers — Juozas Apu- were taken over by later generations. tis, Petras Dirgėla, Juozas Erlickas, Ričardas Gavelis, Romualdas Granauskas, Leonardas The index of historical growth is in part re¯ ected by the portraits of writers that Gutauskas, Jurga Ivanauskaitė, Grigorijus Kanovičius, Vytautas Martinkus. Poets — we could see on the Lithuanian litas banknotes (from 1993). These were Motiejus Sigitas Geda, Antanas A. Jonynas, Donaldas Kajokas, Justinas Marcinkevičius, Aidas Valančius (1801–1875), Žemaitė (1845–1921), Vincas Kudirka (1858–1899), author of Marčėnas, Marcelijus Martinaitis, Jonas Strielkūnas, Tomas Venclova. However, there the Lithuanian national anthem, Maironis (1862–1932), Vydūnas (1868–1953). is a lot of fresh creative energy — both in terms of the problems and literary expres- The period of Soviet occupation was so dramatic, that it cannot be described in just .