Ričardas Gavelis (official November 8, 1950; actual October 8, 1950 in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...
,
Lithuania – August 18, 2002) was a writer, playwright, and journalist.
Life and career
Ričardas Gavelis graduated from
Druskininkai
Druskininkai (; pl, Druskieniki; be, Друскенiкi; yi, דרוזגעניק, translit=Druzgenik) is a spa town on the Nemunas River in southern Lithuania, close to the borders of Belarus and Poland. The city of Druskininkai has a populati ...
high school in 1968. In 1973 he graduated with a degree in theoretical physics from
Vilnius University
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow an ...
. From 1973 to 1977 he worked at the physics institute of the
Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences or LMA ( lt, Lietuvos mokslų akademija) is a state-funded independent organization in Lithuania dedicated for science and research. Its mission is to mobilize prominent scientists and initiate activities that ...
.
From 1978 to 1980 Gavelis worked in the editorial departments of the magazines ''
Mokslas ir gyvenimas'' and ''
Pergalė''; from 1992 to 2002 he worked as a news analyst for the daily newspaper ''
Respublika'' and the weekly ''
Veidas.''
Gavelis was the author of ''Vilniaus pokeris'' (translated as ''Vilnius Poker'') and several other novels and collections of short stories. His work is characterized by a mix of fantasy, eroticism, philosophical ponderings on the human condition, and psychological insight. ''Vilnius Poker,'' first published in 1989 and the most famous of his novels, deals with a mysterious force called "They" which Gavelis described in an interview as "a force within people that is responsible for the formation of totalitarian systems." The story consists of the events of a single week in October told by four different narrators, one of them a dog.
Along with
Algimantas Puipa, Gavelis co-authored the screenplay for the film
Forest of the Gods
''Forest of the Gods'' (Lithuanian: ''Dievų miškas'') is a memoir of the Lithuanian poet and writer Balys Sruoga about his experiences in the Nazi Stutthof concentration camp. Algis KalėdaLietuvių literatūros lobynas: Balio Sruogos „Diev ...
(2005), original title
Dievų miškas, adapted from the novel of the same name by
Balys Sruoga
Balys Sruoga (February 2, 1896, in , Kovno Governorate – October 16, 1947, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist.
Early life
He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth. His works were published ...
.
Gavelis's works have been translated into English, Latvian, French, Polish, Finnish, German, Macedonian and Belarusian.
Bibliography
* ''Neprasidėjusi šventė,'' short stories, Vilnius: , 1976
* ''Įsibrovėliai,'' short stories, Vilnius: Vaga, 1982
* ''Nubaustieji,'' short stories, Vilnius: Vaga, 1987
* ''Vilniaus pokeris,'' novel, Vilnius: Vaga, 1989
* ''Jauno žmogaus memuarai,'' novel, Vilnius: Vaga, 1991. - 140 p
* ''Vilniaus džiazas,'' novel, Vilnius: Vaga, 1993
* ''Paskutinioji žemės žmonių karta,'' novel, Vilnius: Vaga, 1995
* ''Taikos balandis,'' short stories, Vilnius: Alma littera, 1995. - 146 p.
* ''Prarastų godų kvartetas,'' novel, Vilnius: Tyto alba, 1997 - 228 p.
* ''Septyni savižudybių būdai,'' novel, Vilnius: Tyto alba, 1999
* ''Sun–Tzu gyvenimas šventame Vlniaus mieste,'' novel, Vilnius: Tyto alba, 2002. - 290 p.
Translated into English:
* ''Handless'' and ''A Report on Ghosts'', short stories, in ''Come Into My Time: Lithuania in Prose Fiction, 1970-90,'' ed. Violeta Kelertas. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1992,
*''Vilnius Poker,'' translation of ''Vilniaus pokeris''. Rochester, NY: Open Letter Press, 2009. Translated by Elizabeth Novickas. Reissued in paperback by Pica Pica Press, 2016,
*''Memoirs of a Life Cut Short'', translation of ''Jauno žmogaus memuarai''. Glasgow: Vagabond Voices, 2018. Translated by Jayde Will.
*''Sun-Tzu's Life in the Holy City of Vilnius'', translation of ''Sun-Tzu gyvenimas šventame Vlniaus mieste''. Flossmoor, IL: Pica Pica Press, 2019. Translated by Elizabeth Novickas.
Translated into French:
*''Vilnius Poker'', translation of ''Vilniaus pokeris'', Arles : Monsieur Toussaint Louverture, 2014. Translated by Margarita Le Borgne.
Translated into Macedonian:
* „Покер во Вилнус", translation of "Vilniaus pokeris", Antolog, 2013,
References
External links
Vilnius ReviewRičardas GavelisExcerpt from ''Sun-Tzu's Life in the Holy City of Vilnius''Lithuanian Culture Institute - Ričardas Gavelis*
ttp://www.literaturfestival.com/archiv/teilnehmer/autoren/2002/2020-ricardas-gavelis International Literature Festival Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavelis, Ricardas
1950 births
2002 deaths
Burials at Antakalnis Cemetery
Lithuanian writers
Lithuanian novelists
Lithuanian journalists
Lithuanian male writers
Vilnius University alumni
Writers from Vilnius
20th-century novelists
20th-century journalists