The Winner of the Writer’s Scholarship Established by Neringa Municipality Was Elected

2021-08-10

Antanas A. Jonynas

Established by Neringa Municipality in 2021, the winner of the Writer’s scholarship, residing at the International Centre for Translators and Writers, was the poet and translator Antanas A. Jonynas, whose creative idea is to continue his work in translating the German-written poetry of Ludwig Reza into the Lithuanian language. The scholarship winner is very pleased and hopes that the scholarship will make a significant contribution to the implementation of his idea: “To have all the queuing works of Ludwig Reza in Lithuanian language is a matter of honour for our culture, and eventually the debt of honour to the first publisher of Kristijonas Donelaitis “The Seasons” will be repaid. A significant part of the work has already been done, and the dedicated honorary scholarship – with the opportunity to work at the Nida Translators Centre – will be a great incentive for me. I hope that when I leave Nida, I will be able to present the manuscript of all the work that has been done with joy. It will be symbolic if this work can be completed in the poet’s native Curonian Spit.”

For the competition, the creators were invited to submit a free-form application, curriculum vitae, examples of works and a description of the creative idea implemented during the period of residence. Applications were submitted by 11 applicants with very wide geography: Neringa, Palanga, Kaunas, Vilnius. Applications were received from Australian and American Lithuanians. Applicants – mainly writers and translators – have specific plans and ideas. In addition to writing or translation, some saw other forms of creation – photography, painting, audio recordings.

The evaluation of applications took place in two stages. In the first stage, the applications were evaluated by a commission from the representatives of the library and the International Centre for Translators and Writers, set up by the Director of the Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library. At this stage applications were evaluated based on the creator’s literary experience, publications, indicating his/her creative achievements, as well as the artistic and cultural value of the idea to the Curonian Spit, its relevance and expediency, protentional continuity, expected results and dissemination. In 2020, Edmundas Atkočiūnas, a resident of the International Centre for Translators and Writers, poet, author of books and theologian, contributed to the commission. We hope that this will become a beautiful tradition when last year’s resident helps to evaluate and select a new scholarship winner.

A thousand-euro Writer’s Scholarship was established in 2020 by decision of the Council of Neringa Municipality and will be awarded annually for the programme of creative activities carried out during the residency, which consists of created, performed or otherwise publicly presented creative works to the Neringa community. The scholarship winner can choose a period of a creative residency at the International Centre for Translators and Writers from October to April.

2021 laureate Antanas A. Jonynas was born in 1953 in Vilnius. In 1971–1976 he studied Lithuanian language and literature at Vilnius University. From 1976 to 1993 he worked as an editor at “Vaga” publishing house and from 1993 to 1995 he hosted the cultural shows at “Baltic TV”. Since 1995 he has worked as a freelance author and translator. From 2011 to 2018 he was chairman of the Lithuanian Writers’ Union. He has been a vice-chairman of the council of the poetry festival “Poetic Autumn of Druskininkai” since 2000. He has translated poetry, dramaturgy, prose from German, Latvian, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian languages, etc. His own poetry is translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Latvian, Armenian, Georgian, Norwegian, Swedish, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Croatian, Korean and other languages.

Founded in 2018, the International Centre for Translators and Writers (TVRC) is a division of the Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library, which hosts Lithuanian and foreign creators, translators, writers for life and work. It is the only centre for translators and writers in Lithuania, where representatives of domestic and foreign creative communities can meet, create, translate, communicate and collaborate.

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