Poetry
Beržų lopšinė
Not translated into English
Paulius Širvys · 1961
Synopsis
Lullaby of the Birches: with this book, the poet leaves behind the war verse of his beginnings for unrequited love and regret; romantic and melancholy, his poems come closer to the ballad and the romance. A singing tone, elegiac motifs, village nature and the stylization of folklore dominate; parallelisms and alliterations give rhythm to short verses charged with emotion, in which the experience of the front-line soldier remains present.
Context
The collection appeared in Vilnius in 1961 from the State Literature Publishers, after two first books shaped by the war; the first, from 1954, still bore the mark of communist ideology, which the author later abandoned. Vytautas Kubilius credits him with having restored to post-war Lithuanian poetry direct lyrical expression, without abstract ideas, and Marcelijus Martinaitis notes that readers hardly separated the poet from the man. Having become a legendary figure, he saw many of his poems set to music.
Who it is for
Short, melodious poems, close to the romance; Russian translations exist, but no French or English translation of the collection has been found.
Prizes and reception
A book by one of the best-loved poets of his time, whose selection Ilgesys, ta giesmė received the State Prize in 1973.
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