Bernardas Brazdžionis (1907 January 11 in Stebeikėliai - 2002 July 11 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

) was a Lithuanian poet. Bernardas Brazdžionis also used various pen names, such as '' Vytė Nemunėlis'', ''Jaunasis Vaidevutis''.

Biography

Bernardas Brazdžionis was born in Stebeikėliai in 1907, however, after one year Brazdžionis' family emigrated to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Brazdžionis along with his family stayed in the US until 1914 when they returned to Lithuania. Bernardas Brazdžionis finished

Biržai Biržai (, known also by several alternative names) is a town in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries. Names The nam ...

gymnasium in 1929, soon after graduation, he enrolled in

Vytautas Magnus University Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) ( lt, Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas (VDU)) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university. Initially it was known ...

, which Brazdžionis finished in 1934. Bernardas Brazdžionis helped to copyread various Lithuanian journals and papers, like ''Ateities spinduliai'', ''Pradalgės''. He also wrote critiques of various books. In 1939 Bernardas Brazdžionis was awarded with the State literature prize for his poetry book ''Kunigaikščių miestas''. In 1944 Bernardas Brazdžionis moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where he lived until 1949. Brazdžionis finally settled in the US, actively participating in Lithuanian community activities. Patriotic songs based on his poems were performed during the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution; lv, dziesmotā revolūcija; lt, dainuojanti revoliucija) was a series of events that led to the restoration of independence of the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union at the end of ...

in Lithuania; the complete edition of Brazdžionis' poetry ''Poezijos pilnatis'' was sold with great success and reached big popularity. Bernardas Brazdžionis died in Los Angeles, 2002 and in the same year was reburied in Kaunas

Petrašiūnai Cemetery Petrašiūnai Cemetery ( lt, Petrašiūnų kapinės) is Lithuania's premiere last resting place formally designated for graves of people influential in national history, politics, arts, and science. Location Petrašiūnai Cemetery is located abo ...

. Brazdžionis was a member of the Catholic youth and student organization

Ateitis The Lithuanian Catholic Federation "Ateitis" (literally: ''future'') is a youth organization in Lithuania uniting Catholic-minded schoolchildren, university students, and alumni. Ateitis is a member of the umbrella of Catholic youth organizatio ...

References

Biography of Bernardas Brazdžionis
Retrieved on 2007-09-27 Lithuanian male poets 1907 births 2002 deaths Vytautas Magnus University alumni 20th-century poets Burials at Petrašiūnai Cemetery {{Lithuania-poet-stub