Bernardas Brazdžionis

Garbės daktaras / Honorary Doctor (Suteiktas vardas 1994-03-09)

Bernardas Brazdžionis (1907–2002) was a poet, critic, children’s writer, laureate of the Poetry Spring festival, honorary citizen of Kaunas and Pasvalys cities, and recipient of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas of the Third and First Class. In 1989, Pope John Paul II awarded him the “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” medal, and in 1998, the Vatican’s highest honour, the Order of St. Gregory the Great. In 1994, he was awarded VMU honorary doctorate regalia.

Born on 14 February 1907 in Stebeikėliai, Pumpėnai district, he graduated from Biržai Gymnasium in 1929 and enrolled at Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Humanities, specialising in Lithuanian language and literature. After his studies, he taught at schools and, from 1937, worked at the “Sakalas” publishing house, editing magazines such as “Ateities spinduliai” (The Rays of the Future) (1932–1940), “Pradalgės” (The Windrows) (1934–1935), and “Dienovidis” (The Meridian) (1938–1939). From 1940 to 1944, he served as the head of the Maironis Lithuanian Literature Museum. In 1944, he moved to Germany and engaged in the cultural life of the Lithuanian diaspora. In 1947, he edited the annual of Lithuanian writers titled “Tremties metai” (Years of Exile). He relocated to the USA in 1949, living in Boston and working as the editor for the World Literature Department of the “Lithuanian Encyclopedia”. In 1955, he moved to Los Angeles and edited the magazine “Lietuvių dienos” (Lithuanian Days) until 1972. He chaired the Lithuanian Writers’ Association between 1961–1965 and 1980–1983.

Brazdžionis began publishing poems while still a gymnasium student. In 1926, he released his first poetry collection, “Baltosios dienos” (White Days), and in 1928, the poem “Verkiantis vergas” (The Weeping Slave). His poetry collection “Amžinas žydas” (The Eternal Jew, 1931) highlighted the main features of his works, namely religious issues and eschatological motifs. His works combine the symbolism of the Christian East and the Bible, as well as liturgical attributes, with urban imagery, blend high style with low, and are rich in folklore stylisations and traditional nature motifs. His collection “Kunigaikščių miestas” (City of Dukes), which won the State Prize in 1939, and other works from this period proclaim universal Biblical truths; they are characterised by a clear emphasis on the meaning of human existence, a rhetorical style, and a strong focus on melodics. His Nazi occupation period poetry predominantly featured themes of an oppressed nation’s fate. His diaspora poetry collections, including “Svetimi kalnai” (Foreign Mountains, 1945), “Šiaurės pašvaistė” (Northern Lights, 1947), “Didžioji kryžkelė” (The Great Crossroads, 1953), “Vidudienio sodai” (Noontime Gardens, 1961), and “Po aukštaisiais skliautais” (Under Heaven’s Domes, 1989), combine patriotic pathos with emotional nostalgia and lyrical nature motifs. He also wrote a cycle of satirical poems on political themes titled “Vaidila Valiūnas” (1982). In the collection “Šiapus ir anapus mūsų laiko” (Here and Beyond Our Time), he passionately expressed the ideas of Revival. Brazdžionis also wrote children’s books under the pseudonym Vytė Nemunėlis, including notable poetry books such as “Mažųjų pasaulis” (The World of the Little Ones, 1931), “Drugeliai” (Butterflies, 1934), “Vyrai ir pipirai” (Men and Peppers, 1938), and “Meškiukas Rudnosiukas” (The Little Brown-nosed Bear, 1939).

Bernardas Brazdžionis passed away on 11 July 2002 in Los Angeles and was buried in the Petrašiūnai Cemetery in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Based on information provided by VMU Library.