The relationship and representation of the earthly and the heavenly in the poetry of Leonardas Andriekus

Leonardas Andriekus stands out as a distinctive figure in Lithuanian culture and literature of the second half of the 20th century, who carried on, in a creative and inventive way, the tradition of classical poetic diction. Clergyman, Franciscan, Émigré – these major aspects of his personal biography determined the character of both his professional and creative activities. Andriekus is a particular and unique personality. His vast enterprise of cultural initiatives and projects, as well as his poetic word exerted great influence upon all those who came to know him as a clergyman, a cultural organizer, a poet and an individual. Leonardas Andriekus was born on the 15th of July, 1914 in Barstyčiai, Samogitia. At the age of 23 he left for Western Europe, Austria, where he studied theology; since 1946 he resided in the U.S.A. Though nostalgia for his mother country was his most painful yearning, he visited Lithuania only several times. Andriekus died on May 20, 2003 in Brooklyn. 1969–1979 he was Chairman of the Lithuanian Émigré Writers’ Union. For decades of years he was active in various publishing and editing work. Leonardas Andriekus is the author of eight collections of poems (one more is left in manuscript): “Open Seas” (1955); “The Sun und Crosses”(1960); “Nightherder” (1963); “Under the Seals of God” (1969); “Behind the gates of Summer” (1976); “Remember me, Crucifix” (1985); “Voices from the Beyond” (1988); “Why are you yearning, my Soul” (1991); There are also two... [to full text