The directory «Plots»

Simonaityté Ieva
(1897—1978)

Writer, born in Vanagai, district of Klaipeda (then under German rule), on Jan. 23, 1897. Self educated, she earned her living as a secretary and translator, contributing poems and stories to periodicals of Lithuania Minor. She came to sudden prominence with her novel Aukstuju Simoniu likimas (The Fate of the Upper Simonys, 1935), awarded the first Lithuanian state literary prize. The novel earned her extraordinary critical and popular acclaim and appeared in numerous editions. A family chronicle, it traces the destinies of the Simonis clan between the 18th and 20th centuries, in a mosaic of colourful episodes.

Similar in stature is her novel Vilius Karalius (Vilius the King), vol. 1 in 1939 and vol. 2 in 1956, awarded the 25,000-ruble Soviet state prize in 1958. Epic and monumental spanning the lives of several generations, the novel is also distinguished by its psychological insight and social observation. Of lesser importance are her novels Pavasariu audroj (In the Storm of Springs, 1938); the largely autobiographical Be tevo (Without a Father, 1941); and Pikciurniene, the portrait of a woman consumed by greed. Her weaknesses, such as the inclination to sentimentality and excessive wordiness, are most apparent in the collection of stories Apsakymai (1948). Six volumes of her collected writings appeared during 1956-1958. She also wrote several autobiographic books:... O buvo taip (It was Thus, 1960); Ne ta pastoge (A Different Home, 1962); Nebaigta knyga (The Unfinished Book, 1965). In her post-war writing she frequently succumbs to the clichés of "socialist realism". She died in Vilnius.

Lithuania, 1997, Ieva Simonaityté