18.III. 1907 – 19.XII.1970
Pulgis (Fulgencijus) Andriušis was born in Lithuania in the
village of Gaidžiai, near Tauragnai in the district of Utena.
He was a noted writer, literary critic and translator of
books and plays. Andriušis’ short
stories are written in an eastern Lithuanian dialect. They abound with
descriptions of nature and of peasant life, which is closely tied to nature. He wrote with humour but without malice of
everyday village life, a life he would have experience in his youth.
In Kaunas he studied literature at the University of Kaunas
and also art at the School of Art. He
learned many foreign languages during the course of his studies and his
extensive travels in Western Europe and North Africa.
Andriušis began his writing career by contributing articles
(as book reviews, drama critiques and essays) to various periodicals. He continued this throughout his life writing
for Australian Lithuanian newspapers and American publications.
He translated two French novels into Lithuanian: namely, R.
Dorgeles’ Less Croix de obis and C. Ferere’s La bataille. One of his best
translations is the Lithuanian edition of Servants’ Don Quixote, 1943.
From 1944-49 he lived in refugee camps in West Germany. In
1949 he immigrated to Australia with his wife and three children and settled in
Adelaide. His two-year Government
contract was with the NSW Railways where he cleaned carriages. Completing this, in Adelaide he worked in the
telegram home office at the then GPO. His all male office attendants couldn’t
pronounce his name Pulgis - so they called him Andy instead.
In 1968 he toured the U.S. and Canada, with other Lithuanian
writers reciting his works.
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| Pulgis reciting some of his work |
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| Cover of his Esperanto book |
Pulgis published works.
1.
Ir vis dėlto juokimės! (Let us laugh,
nevertheless). Feljetonai iš DP camp Gunzenhausen, 1946 Humorous short story
2.
Siuntinėlis iš Amerikos. (A package from America)
Donauwörth, 1947 m. Humorous short story.
3.
Anoj pusėj ežero. Lyrinės apysakos. Gunzenhausen,
1947 m., Boston, 1953 m.,
4.
Esperanto kalbos vadovėlis su trumpu žodynėliu.
Dilingen–Donau, 1947 m.
5.
Ispanų kalbos gramatika, d. 1, Nürttingen, 1947
m.
6.
Vabalų vestuvės (Insect wedding) Schweinfurt,
1948 m. 2 ed. 1995 m. A children’s story.
7.
Sudiev, kvietkeli“. (Good-by, little flower) Adelaide,
1951 m. A short story - Awarded a prize by the emigrant Lithuanian Writers
Association.
8.
Tipelis“. Tipelis (The character).Boston. A
humorous novel.
9.
Rojaus vartai (The gate of paradise). London,
1960. Awarded the prize of the emigrant Lithuanian Writers Association.
10.
Daina iš kito galo. (A song sung backwards) London,
1962 m. A feuilleton collection
11.
Blezdingėlės prie Torenso: Lietuvių įsikūrimas
Pietų Australijoje 1947–1962 m. Edited with V. Radzevičius
12.
Purienos po vandeniu (Marsh marigolds under
water) London, 1963 m. Short Stories.
13.
Rinktiniai raštai t. 1. Autobiografiniai
memuarai. Lyrinės apysakos, Boston, 1968 m.
14.
Rinktiniai Raštai (Outline of selected writings
- includes the draft autobiography Septinton įleidus). 1962
15.
Anoj pusėj ežero (On the other side of the
lake). Collection of short stories. This
is one of his outstanding lyrical works, awarded the Lithuanian Red Cross
prize.
To commemorate 100 years since his birth in 1907, the
Friends of the Lithuanian Club Library group in Sydney organised a literary
afternoon on 18th November 2007. Mrs Elena Jonaitis introduced the writer and
his works to the audience. You can read
more about this event here http://www.slic.org.au/Culture/Pulgis.htm
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| Andriusis card from a Esperanto conference |
