Gintaras Grajauskas

{Gintaras Grajauskas was born in 1966 in Kapsukas (now Marijampolé), Lithuania. He studied the specialty of Chorus conductor at the Stasys Šimkus Conservatoire, and then Jazz at the Lithuanian State Conservatoire in Klaipéda. Following this he worked for various radio and television stations and, since 1994, for the daily newspaper »Klaipėda«, for which he edits the literary suplement »Gintaro lašai« (tr: Amber Drops). Since 2008 he is the head of literary department of Klaipėda Drama theatre.

His first collection of poems, »Tatuiruotė« (tr: Tattoo), was published in 1993. He published more books of poetry, such as »Kaulinė dūdelė« (tr. Bone Flute) in 1999, for which Grajauskas won the Lithuanian »Spring of Poetry« and leva-Simonaitytė-Literature Prizes in 2000. The seven parts of the book are named for the organ registers − Principal, Vox humana, Mixture, Vox coelestis, Recorder, Cornet and Trumpet, and are linguistically characterised by musicality and a prevailing mood which is both laconic and melancholic. Grajauskas is a post-modern satirist with an unobtrusive yet highly memorable style. His poems are free of pathos and contrived metaphors and achieve their effects through their natural, almost conversational tone: »Writing poems for me is above all about controlling emotions, forgetting them and distancing myself from them. I’m not a specialist of the ecstasies or the inspiration of the moment. I prefer intimacy to theatricality, the possibility of making oneself understood via suggestions which are only understood by the people communicating with each other, using idiosyncratic glances and gestures.« The poems are short and ironic everyday sketches, or filigree, highly visual descriptions and stories. In his texts, Grajauskas takes superficial linguistic platitudes back to their beginnings and uncovers their origins in deep-rooted insecurities.

His poems have been translated into many languages, including English, German, French, Swedish and Polish. Grajauskas was awarded the Lithuanian Ministry for Culture’s Prize in 2003, and in 2007 he won the Lithuanian Golden Stage Cross for his play »Mergaitė, kurios bijojo Dievas« (tr. The Girl Who Frightened God).

Grajauskas lives and works in Klaipėda. Alongside his writing, he also plays bass and sings in the bands »Rokfeleriai«, »Kontrabanda «.

Tatuiruotė

Vaga

Vilnius,1993

Knochenflöte

Edition Erata

Leipzig, 2003

[Ü: Mala Vikaite, Viktor Kalinke]

Naujausių laikų istorija

Vadovėlis pradedantiesiems

Rašytojų sąjungos leidykla

Vilnius, 2004

Eilėraščiai savo kailiu

Rašytojų sąjungos leidykla

Vilnius, 2008