2010 Program Dates: August 1 - 14

“Lithuania: how did I end up here”

The Mexican poet, Gerardo Beltran (Zorro) was instrumental to my moving to Lithuania. Gerardo had been to Lithuania before and loved the country – it’s a country of great poetry and beautiful women; has a jewel of a capital city, Vilnius; and a deeply rooted folk and multi-cultural tradition. I was fascinated by the mystery of Vilnius, its Lithuanian, Litvak, Polish, and Russian mix, and the incredible voice that poets and poetry still had in determining cultural values, in formulating the language and discourse of a country going through an incredibly fast transition.

I was ripe to leave the States. I had never felt comfortable with its politics, its fast-food culture, the viciousness of its racism and imperial arrogance. Of course, there was much that I liked – my friends and flamenco buddies, the ethnic diversity, the wilderness and hill country, New York, the ideals of America, or perhaps the elusive idea.

Lithuania seemed to offer the right alternative at the right moment – a reticent and reserved people but with enough wild hairs to make life very interesting; an unbroken and elaborate folk mythos and rural life (I love the woods, the lakes, and fishing); Baroque Vilnius with its complex, beautiful, gloomy, and devastating history; and a lot of people who had warmly received me (the poet, Kornelijus Platelis, Eugenijus, “Charlie”, and a host of others) – a perfect stranger with no Lithuanian blood – into their homes and lives. I felt at home, comfortable, and intrigued by a whole New World to explore and participate in. And to make the whole thing feasible, I soon found out that Lithuania was one of the few countries on the Fulbright map that specifically requested “creative writers” as Fulbright lecturers.

Well, I came back to visit in 1997 to test the waters (to be sure it was not some romantic illusion), sold my shack in Perry County, Pennsylvania, and then from 1998 to 2000 did two academic years as a Fulbright lecturer at Vilnius University in English composition, literature, and translation theory. Zorro visited me often from Warsaw – we were both addicts of the nightlife in Vilnius, the pubs, the lovely women, the poetry scene, and I especially liked the rhythm of the culture. Lithuanians can dance and sing like no one else in northern Europe.