Jurgis Blekaitis
Encyclopedia
Jurgis Blekaitis was a Lithuanian American poet, theater producer, and former editor for the Voice of America
.
) while his family was on vacation. His father worked in the Russian czar's army. The Blekaitis family lived in St. Petersburg. However, the Russian Revolution erupted just months after Blekaitis's birth.
The Blekaitis family escaped the effects of the revolution in St. Petersburg by fleeing to the family's hometown of Birstonas
, Lithuania
. (Lithuania gained independence from Russia following the Russian Revolution). Blekaitis learned Polish, his mother's native tongue, as well as Russian and Lithuanian. Throughout the rest of his life Blekaitis would continue to learn new languages. He eventually also learned English, French and German. Blekaitis earned a degree in theater from Vytautas Magnus University
in Kaunas
, Lithuania, and began work as an actor and director.
Blekaitis was nearly sent to a concentration camp in Liepāja
, Latvia
with other Lithuanian intellectuals near the end of World War II. However, with the advance of the Soviet army, Blekaitis was forced to flee to a refugee camp in Germany. While in Germany, Blekaitis enrolled in a Freiburg
art school. He helped organize acting troupes and toured several refugee camps throughout Germany.
and other ethnic theater programs.
Blekaitis joined the Voice of America in New York in 1952. He moved to the Washington, D.C. area when the Voice of America moved its headquarters
in 1954. He worked in the VOA's Lithuanian service from 1952 until his retirement in 1987. He became a senior editor at the VOA.
Blekaitis continued writing while in the United States. He was noted for translating works by Ivar Ivask
, Czesław Miłosz, and Joseph Brodsky
to English.
He published two books of original poetry, as well as a Lithuanian memoir.
Blekaitis died on June 25, 2007, at his home in Laurel, Maryland of Alzheimer's disease
. He was 89 years old. He was survived by his wife, Grazina Blekaitis. His surviving children included three sons from his first marriage, a daughter from a previous relationship, one grandson and two great grandchildren.
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
.
Early life
Blekaitis was born in Kellomäki, Finland, (which at the time was still part of the Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
) while his family was on vacation. His father worked in the Russian czar's army. The Blekaitis family lived in St. Petersburg. However, the Russian Revolution erupted just months after Blekaitis's birth.
The Blekaitis family escaped the effects of the revolution in St. Petersburg by fleeing to the family's hometown of Birstonas
Birštonas
Birštonas is a spa town in Lithuania situated south of Kaunas on the right bank of the Nemunas River. Birštonas received its city rights 1529, and was appointed a city in 1966.-Name:Birštonas is the Lithuanian name of the city...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. (Lithuania gained independence from Russia following the Russian Revolution). Blekaitis learned Polish, his mother's native tongue, as well as Russian and Lithuanian. Throughout the rest of his life Blekaitis would continue to learn new languages. He eventually also learned English, French and German. Blekaitis earned a degree in theater from Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University ) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university...
in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, Lithuania, and began work as an actor and director.
Blekaitis was nearly sent to a concentration camp in Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
with other Lithuanian intellectuals near the end of World War II. However, with the advance of the Soviet army, Blekaitis was forced to flee to a refugee camp in Germany. While in Germany, Blekaitis enrolled in a Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
art school. He helped organize acting troupes and toured several refugee camps throughout Germany.
Career in the United States
Blekaitis immigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in New York City. He produced Russian theater in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and other ethnic theater programs.
Blekaitis joined the Voice of America in New York in 1952. He moved to the Washington, D.C. area when the Voice of America moved its headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
in 1954. He worked in the VOA's Lithuanian service from 1952 until his retirement in 1987. He became a senior editor at the VOA.
Blekaitis continued writing while in the United States. He was noted for translating works by Ivar Ivask
Ivar Ivask
Ivar Vidrik Ivask was Estonian poet and literary scholar.He escaped in 1944 from Estonia to Germany and lived from 1949 onwards in the USA and from 1991 in Ireland....
, Czesław Miłosz, and Joseph Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...
to English.
He published two books of original poetry, as well as a Lithuanian memoir.
Personal life
Blekaitis married twice. His first marriage to Ausra Bendorius ended in divorce.Blekaitis died on June 25, 2007, at his home in Laurel, Maryland of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. He was 89 years old. He was survived by his wife, Grazina Blekaitis. His surviving children included three sons from his first marriage, a daughter from a previous relationship, one grandson and two great grandchildren.