Maironis in interwar Lithuanian schools

The position of Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, 1862-1932) as the main classic author of Lithuanian literature in the interwar school curriculum emerged only at the end of the 1930s. One of the reasons for such a relatively late canonization in schools was the fact that the first histories of Lithuanian literature published before the restoration of Lithuanian statehood did not mention Maironis’ works. Starting in the mid-1930s, Maironis’s works, a collection of poems, Pavasario balsai (Voices of Spring), and a poem, Jaunoji Lietuva (Young Lithuania), were made mandatory in the curriculum of Lithuanian schools. After 1936, a poem Raseinių Magdė (Magdė from Raseiniai) was added to the list. The canonical status of Voices of Spring in the curriculum does not raise questions, since even before World War I Maironis has been recognized by critics as the most prominent poet of his generation. Meanwhile, his poems received a different welcome. It seems that Young Lithuania was added to the curriculum because of its historic role in reviving Lithuanian national awareness, while Magdė from Raseiniai was included in the list of mandatory works in pursuance of the reform of education which goal was to expand the number of literary works from the era of national revival and to strengthen nationality and patriotism in the school. The semantic axis of Maironis’ biographical narrative in curriculum is Lithuanianness with less emphasis on the vocation of a priest and poet. The specific presentation of Maironis’ biography in Lithuanian schools and the evaluation of his works were determined by general trends of the interwar Lithuanian culture. During that period, the national revival had taken a central place in collective memory, therefore the most prominent poet of that time, who made a significant contribution in reviving national feelings of general population, was first of all introduced to the students through his works’ social significance.Laikantis literatūros sociologo Johno Guillory darbuose suformuotos nuostatos, kad literatūrinio kanono formavimui bei įsigalėjimui didelį poveikį daro švietimo institucijos, šiame straipsnyje nagrinėjama, kokia apimtimi ir kokiais prasminiais akcentais tarpukario Lietuvoje buvo pristatoma Maironio biografija ir kūryba bendrojo lavinimo mokyklos lietuvių kalbos programose, vadovėliuose ir skaitiniuose. Pirmoje straipsnio dalyje aiškinamasi, kada ir kurie Maironio tekstai buvo įtraukti į privalomų kūrinių sąrašą, kokie argumentai lėmė jų priskyrimą mokykliniam literatūros kanonui. Antroje dalyje nagrinėjamas mokyklinis Maironio biografijos naratyvas ir dominuojančios poeto kūrybos vertinimo tendencijos