Vytautas Stankus

- Lithuania -

Vytautas Stankus (b. 8 of November, 1984), poet and translator, lives in Vilnius. Vytautas has studied English Philology at the Lithuanian Pedagogical University. He began publishing poems in the literary press in 2007. His first poetry collection, "Walking on the Other Side of Ice" ("Vaikščiojimas kita ledo puse"), 2009 won the Zigmas Gaidamavičius-Gėlė Prize for the best poetry debut. Literature critics suggest Vytautas as one of the most emenrgent Lithuanian poets. His second poetry book "Iš veidrodžio, už" (From the Mirror, Behind) was published in 2014. The book is chosen by competent Commission to Five best poetry books of 2014 in Book of the Year Campaign. In February 2015 Vytautas' book "From the Mirror, Behind" became a poetry book of the year 2014 in Lithuania.


Vytautas Stankus, poet and translator, lives in Vilnius. Vytautas has studied English Philology at the Lithuanian Pedagogical University. He began publishing poems in the literary press in 2007.

 

Vytautas Stankus was obliged as a poet from his first poetry book. His beginning was strong and convincing. Vytautas is one of those poets who are responsible for Auditory when he reads his poetry. It's always a pleasure to listen to him as you can see how confident he is in his readings. Vytautas knows what he wants to give and to tell for his readers and he does this perfect.

 

His first poetry collection, "Walking on the Other Side of Ice" ("Vaikščiojimas kita ledo puse") was published in 2009 and won the Zigmas Gaidamavičius-Gėlė Prize for the best poetry debut. This Prize was established for talented young poets for the best first books of the Year. Usualy poets who were awarded with this prize become those who are the most important in Lithuanian poetry. This prize means much and oblige a young poet.

 

Literature critics suggest Vytautas as one of the most emergent Lithuanian poets. Giedrė Kazlauskaitė wrote about his first book in portal www.bernardinai.lt: "Yes, this is a debut book but it is absolutely different. It is coming from poetry tradition. The language here is a bit exalted" Poet is talking to God and his poems talk not only about death but about illness, depression. "The life here is interesting only as beginning of death" (Elena Baliutytė, cultural weekly "Nemunas").

 

His second poetry book "Iš veidrodžio, už" (From the Mirror, Behind) was published in 2014. The book now is chosen by competent Commission to Five best poetry books of 2014 in Book of the Year Campaign.

 

"Poems balance on a dramatic bound: between beauty and truth, between loneliness and human eforts to overcome it. He doesn't refuse the experience of elder poets but also creates his own compositions" (Valentinas Sventickas in Presentation of the book "From the Mirror, Behind".

 

There are five years between both books. Mostly poets are different in their first and other books, and Vytautas keeps the same mood in both of them. Literature critics Virginija Cibarauskė writes that his both books are like twins. Death and walking on the Other Side is a main connecting link. She calls his poetry dramatic, "he constructs a world without happy endings. His lyrical subject suffers physically and spiritually".

 

It's pretty hard to get his opinion on many things as he is laconic and doesn't talk more then he needs to say. Interviews are short and they tell almost nothing about him. But his poetry tells much more.

 

There are few young poets who are bold in Lithuania poetry today. Vytautas is one of them. When this year winner of The Young Yotvingian prize Aivaras Veiknys was presented to Auditory, member of Commission mentioned that Vytautas was considered as one of possible winners. So Lithuania has poets who are visible and active in poetry life.