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Stasys AnglickisLithuanian poet, translator, teacher.
Date of Birth: 22.12.1905
Country:  Lithuania |
Content:
Jonas Aistis
Early Life and EducationJonas Aistis was born in Lithuania and completed his primary education in Telšiai. He then attended a gymnasium (from 1920) and a teacher's seminary from 1923 to 1927. In 1927, he commenced his studies at the University of Lithuania in Kaunas, later renamed Vytautas Magnus University, in the Faculty of Humanities.
Literary Beginnings
In 1932, Aistis collaborated with Juozas Banaitis to publish a single issue of the literary journal "Linija." He also worked as an editor for the journal "Skynimai" in 1933. His literary debut came in 1927 with the publication of a fragment of a poem in "Pradai ir Žygiai."
Teaching and Publications
From 1933 to 1940, Aistis taught at a boys' gymnasium in Šiauliai. Later, he served as the principal of a gymnasium in Tauragė (1940-1941) and as an inspector for the People's Commissariat of Education. During the German occupation, he worked as a teacher in Vilnius. After the war, he taught in Kuršėnai and retired in 1966.
In 1931, Aistis published his first book of poetry, "Steps to the Sphinx" ("Žingsniai prie sfinkso"). In addition to writing in standard Lithuanian, he also wrote poetry in the Žemaitian dialect. He compiled and edited an anthology of Žemaitian poetry and prose titled "Žemaičiai" (1938).
Literary Collaborations
Aistis actively participated in the almanac "Granitas" and contributed to various literary publications, including "Dienovidis," "Naujoji Romuva," and "Židinys." He translated Mikhail Lermontov's poem "The Demon" into Lithuanian (1949) and Heinrich Heine's "Travel Pictures" (1953). His poems have been translated into Latvian, Polish, and Esperanto.
