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Jonas Biliūnas (11 April 1879 – 8 December 1907) was a Lithuanian writer, poet, and a significant contributor to the national awakening of Lithuania in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.


Biography


Early life

Biliūnas was born near
Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...
, in the
Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate ( rus, Ковенская губеpния, r=Kovenskaya guberniya; lt, Kauno gubernija) or Governorate of Kaunas was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. Its capital was Kaunas (Kovno in Russian). It was forme ...
of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, in the tiny village of Niūronys, where he spent his early childhood. Between 1891 and 1899, he attended the secondary school in
Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...
(now in Latvia).


Studies at universities

In 1900, he matriculated as a medical student at the
University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
(now in
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
). He had already been writing for various publications of a
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
nature under the pseudonyms of J. Anykštėnas, Jonas Gražys, J. Barzdyla, as well as others. His anti-Tsarist activities and support of the
Social Democratic Party of Lithuania The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija, LSDP) is a centre-left and social democratic political party in Lithuania. Founded as an underground Marxist organization in 1896, it is the oldest extant par ...
caused him to be expelled from medical school in 1901, and he returned to Lithuania, living in
Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...
and
Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...
, until 1903. After several unsuccessful attempts to return to the University of Tartu, Biliūnas journeyed to
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, in the German Empire, where he enrolled in the ''Handelshochschule'', a business and commercial school. It was around this period that Biliūnas took a greater interest in literature in general, and creative writing in particular. After one semester at the business school, he decided to enroll at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
where he began his formal studies of
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
with an emphasis on literary composition.


Religious experience

As he was growing weaker with illness, he more often hallucinated, yet he was still atheist. Unexpectedly however, once in a Leipzigian theatre, Biliūnas suddenly saw
Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
during the scene in an act, who quietly whispered to Biliūnas: "We'll meet in a short while. Work". Biliūnas immediately fainted. This hallucination undercut Biliūnas' worldview and baffled his mind.


Illness

Signs of ill health in Biliūnas had already begun to manifest themselves during his earlier studies at Tartu. By 1904, it became clear that he was suffering from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
, and the disease had done considerable damage to his health. After spending the summer of 1904 in Lithuania, Biliūnas continued his literary studies by enrolling at the
University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...
that autumn. Within a year the disease had progressed to the stage where he had to abandon his studies, and he was admitted into a tuberculosis
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
, in
Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...
( in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
). After briefly visiting with his family in Lithuania during the summer of 1906, Biliūnas returned to the sanatorium where his short life ended on 8 December 1907.


Burial

The two
World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
, and other political considerations, prevented Biliūnas' desire to have his remains returned to Lithuania. Finally in 1953, his wishes were realized, and he was re-interred on a
hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
mound near his birthplace, and a museum was created in
Anykščiai Anykščiai (; see other names) is a ski resort town in Lithuania, west of Utena. The Roman Catholic Church of St. Matthias in Anykščiai is the tallest church in Lithuania, with spires measuring in height. Anykščiai has a resort status i ...
, honoring his life and works.


Literary works and assessment

Biliūnas is considered to have two distinct periods in his literary career. The first spans the years 1900-1903, and the second, 1904-1907. Most of his works are
short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
, and often have autobiographical inclusions dealing with his own personal life's experiences. In the first period, a realistic style imbued with a strong social consciousness is prevalent in his writings. Two of his works from this period include ''Be darbo'' (Unemployed), and ''Pirmutinis streikas'' (First Strike). The political ideology of a socialist nature permeate this period and are reminiscent of the early writings of
Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
and
Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...
. Possibly as a result of his debilitating illness, which in that time period was inevitably fatal, Biliūnas underwent a spiritual metamorphosis. His political activities and interests were supplanted by a melancholy, and a departure from realism, which were now manifested in his writings of the second period. ''Brisiaus galas'' (The End of Brisius), is a tear-jerking recounting of the demise of a family dog with the thoughts of the dog interspersed with the thoughts of his owner. ''Ant Uetlibergo giedra'' (Fine Weather on the Uetliberg) is almost a travelog of his perspective of the Swiss Alps near
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...
. ''Liūdna pasaka'' (A Sad Tale) is his longest work and is a psychological drama dealing with the
Uprising of 1863 The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
. In this work the main character, a woman, is driven to ruin as a consequence of the uprising, and her story is told from a psychological vantage point. During the period between 1900 and 1905, Biliūnas wrote approximately fifteen poems, including several
sonnets A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's inventio ...
. These sonnets were influenced by his studies of
Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...
. Most critical reviews of his poems are of the opinion that they fall short of his other writings. Biliūnas wrote several articles concerning literary criticism, which are highly regarded and considered to show his depth of perception concerning the subjects he dealt with. Most of Jonas Biliūnas' works were published posthumously, and have been translated in many different languages.


Collected works

* ''Įvairūs apsakymėliai''. Tilžė:
Aušra ''Aušra'' or ''Auszra'' (literally: ''dawn'') was the first national Lithuanian newspaper. The first issue was published in 1883, in Ragnit, East Prussia, Germany (newspaper credited it as lt, Ragainė) East Prussia's ethnolinguistic part - ...
, 1906. 64 p. * ''Liūdna pasaka: kūrybos rinktinė''. Vilnius: J. Zavadskis publishing house, 1908. 32 p. * ''Žemės gyvenimo reiškiniai''. Berlin, 1923. 72 p. (issued 1905; 1921) * ''Liūdna pasaka: kūrybos rinktinė''. Kaunas, 1937. 73 p. * ''Kliudžiau'': Kaunas: Valstybinė grožinės literatūros leidykla, 1946. * ''Raštai''. Kaunas: Valstybinė grožinės literatūros leidykla, 1947. * ''Nemunu'': apsakymėliai. Kaunas: Valstybinė grožinės literatūros leidykla, 1947. 98 p. * ''Joniukas''. Vilnius: Valstybinė grožinės literatūros leidykla, 1948. 24 p. (reissued by. Vaga: 1974; 1979) * ''Laimės žiburys''. Vilnius: Valstybinė grožinės literatūros leidykla, 1949. 14 p. * ''Lazda''. Vilnius: Valstybinė grožinės literatūros leidykla, 1959. 329 p. * ''Liūdna pasaka'': kūrybos rinktinė. Vilnius: Valstybinė grožinės literatūros leidykla, 1963. 50 p. * ''Žvaigždė: apsakymai''. Vilnius: Vaga, 1965. 70 p. * ''Laimės žiburys: apsakymai''. Vilnius: Vaga, 1965 (reissued. 1976). 79 p. * ''Apsakymai''. Vilnius: Vaga, 1967 . 77 p. (переизд. 1984) * ''Liūdna pasaka'': kūrybos rinktinė. Vilnius: Baltos lankos, 1995. 132 p.  * ''Kūdikystės sapnai: kūrybos rinktinė''. Anykščiai: A. Baranausko ir A. Vienuolio-Žukausko memor. muz., 2001. 121 p. * ''Apsakymai; Eilėraščiai''. Kaunas: SPAB Spindulys, 2001. 79 p. * ''Kliudžiau: apsakymas vaikams.'' Panevėžys: E. Vaičekauskas boosktsore printing house, 2003. 15 p. * ''Proza''. Vilnius: Žaltvykslė, 2004. 63 p. * ''Kūdikystės sapnai'': kūrybos rinktinė / Prepared by Alma Ambraškaitė. Utena: Utenos Indra, 2005. 100 p. .


References


External links

*
I Got It
' a translation of ''Kliudžiau'' into English {{DEFAULTSORT:Biliunas, Jonas 1879 births 1907 deaths People from Anykščiai District Municipality People from Vilkomirsky Uyezd Lithuanian male poets Lithuanian short story writers Lithuanian socialists 19th-century poets 19th-century short story writers 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Poland