ANTANAS A. JONYNAS Comments

1. Antanas A. Jonynas is a Lithuanian poet and translator born November 26,1953 in Vilnius, Lithuania. He studied Lithuanian philology at Vilnius University.

2. He made his debut in 1977 and since then he has published a collection of poems approximately every three years. In trying to describe his poetry, most critics employ musical metaphors, and often mention jazz.

3. His style is very dynamic, with broken rhythms and hurried punctuation. But it is often noted that he is less socially conscious and more of an individualist, concerned with inner presences and the stirrings of a person, and is related to the lost generation in his wistfulness and longing, doubt and hesitation.

4. Jonynas is also one of the best translators of poetry in Lithuania - he has translated Goethe's Faust.

5. He is also a very active participant in the poetry scene; no literary festival could be imagined without him. He is known for his friendly and even paternal attitude towards his younger colleagues and, until recently, he was the chairperson of the Lithuanian Writers’ Union.