Summary
The larger part of the present issue of “Rubinaitis” is devoted to childrenʼs literature by Lithuanian emigre authors. Due to political circumstances – World War II and the Soviet occupation – large numbers of Lithuanians emigrated to the West (first to Germany and then to North America, Australia and other countries). There were many intellectuals among them, including a number of writers, such as Bernardas Brazdžionis (who wrote under the pen-name Vytė Nemunėlis), Vytautas Tamulaitis, Stepas Zobarskas. Leonardas Žitkevičius and others who had already shown themselves as talented authors of childrenʼs literature in the 1920s and each had published more than one book in independent Lithuania. In emigration they continued to write for children; besides they were joined by several new names. This part of Lithuanian childrenʼs literature for a long time developed separately from what was written in Soviet Lithuania and for political reasons, was unknown not only to the public at large but also to literature scholars in Lithuania.
The main article in this issue, “The Development of Lithuanian Childrenʼs Literature In Exile” is contributed by literary scholar Gražina Slavėnienė, Professor of Buffalo State University, U. S. A. The author distinguishes three periods in the development of childrenʼs literature in exile, the first one extending from 1946 to 1950, when Lithuanian writers continued intensively while at the DP camps in Germany. This is mostly true of authors well-known from the pre-war period, including the ones mentioned earlier. Works for children written in Germany were of high artistic standard. Gražina Slavėnienė evaluates the second period, i. e. works created after setting down in U. S. A. and other countries as a decline. Social circumstancies at the time were far from favourable for childrenʼs literature. The third period, starting in mid-sixties, is marked by a change in themes and problems tackled by Lithuanian childrenʼs authors who are increasingly influenced by the realities of American childrenʼs life. A new generation of writers appears, of whom Gražina Slavėnienė singles out Nijolė Jankutė and Danutė Brazytė-Bindokienė. The author of the articles links this third wave with the concept of ethnic literature that gained prominence in the U. S. A.
The remaining five articles in the present issue have been contributed by Lithuanian scholars and deal with individual books or authors. Jonas Linkevičius in his article “The Work of Vytautas Tamulaitis in Exile” discusses the literary career of a Lithuanian author who was a recognized fairy-tale writer ir pre-war Lithuania. Jonas Linkevičius claims in his article that the prize-winning fantasy “Adventures of the Ant Greitutė” (1935) can be considered the first part of a trilogy, since, already in emigration, Tamulaitis wrote two more fantasies on the world of insects: “Travels of Grasshopper the Fiddler” and “Summer Tale” (both of whitch are about to be published in Lithuania).
Laima Arnatkevičiūtė devotes her article „Fairy-tale versus reality in “The Bugʼs Wedding” by Pulgis Andriušis” to the comparison of the tale by Andriušis with the folklove tradition and searches for topical hints and alegorical meanings in the text of the tale.
Loreta Žvironaitėʼs article “The Playfulness of Leonardas Žitkevičiusʼ Verse” is attempt to discuss the transformations with time in the poetry of Žitkevičius who published three books in exile. The author claims that Žitkevičius employs the harmony of word and action, plentiąue use onomatopoea, and the principle of antropomorphism as the main vehicles for the comicality of his verses.
Gražina Skabeikytė (“Continuation of Tradition in Jonas Minelgaʼs Poetry for Children” considers to be one of the most gifted childrenʼs poets of the younger generation. While continuing the traditional model of childrenʼs verse he has enriched it with new intonations.
Kęstutis Urba devotes his article to the analysis of seven books by Nijolė Jankutė. He classifies them according to the age of their adresses (pre-school, teanage, young adults) and genre, singling out in particular Jankutėʼs fantasy “Trip to the Seventh Station” and the story “From Nine to One”. The pages reserved for samples of literary texts this time carry two short tales by Nijolė Jankutė, “The King of Pancakes” and “The Stubborn Sugar-cubes”.
The traditional section “Books of My Childhood” contains an interview of Elona Varnauskienė with the literary scholar, Professor Viktorija Daujotytė. In this article, entitled “When Children Were Still Big” the Professor recalls the literary impressions and rural surroundings of her childhood and emphasises the fact that in the past the worldsʼ of children and adults were much more tightly linked than they are now. Hence, perhaps, the importance of books written specially for children.
This issue of “Rubinaitis” introduces a new section, entitled “Anniversaries”. In it, Kęstutis Urba writes about the 160th anniversary of Mark Twain, emphasising the fact that in Twainʼs works the didactic element gives way to a specific plot mechanism that could be defined as a moral choice situation. Albinas Vaičiūnasʼ contribution is devoted to the l00th anniversary of bibliographer Marija Mašiotaitė-Urbšienė, daughter of the well-known Lithuanian childrenʼs author, Pranas Mašiotas. Sigita Juozapavičiūtė writes about the “Berniukas Žirniukas” puppet theatre of the Childrenʼs Literature Centre at the National Library of Lithuania which has been active in propagating childrenʼs books and is celebrating its 30 years of existence.
Other sections contain listing anniversaries of authors that could be marked by Lithuanian librarians and events to be organized by the Lithuanian section of IBBY (exhibitions, conferences, presentations).
In his introductory article of the issue Kęstutis Urba, the Editor-in-Chief raises the question that translations from foreign languages shoud not push out works by Lithuanian authors which deserve constant attention. The author goes on to give an overview of the history of the investigations into childrenʼs literature and the more important scholarly publications. These ideas of the introductory article are in essence supported by the present issue of “Rubinaitis” which concentrates the attention on “our own”, i. e. Lithuanian childrenʼs literature.
Žurnalas „Rubinaitis“, 1995 Nr. 2 (3)
