Lithuanian Culture Institute
Lithuanian Culture Guide, Poetry

Eugenijus Ališanka

Eugenijus Ališanka (b. 1960) is a poet, essayist and translator. Born to an expatriate family in the depths of Siberia, he didn’t see Lithuania for the first two years of his life. What sets him apart in the context of Lithuanian literature is the fact that he’s not a philologist – he holds a degree in Mathematics from Vilnius University. Nevertheless, he actively researched literary theories and became one of the first experts in postmodernism in Lithuania. Perhaps this is why critics use epithets such “intellectualism”, “constructivism” and concepts of postmodernism to describe Ališanka’s poetry and essays. 

He is arguably the most widely translated Lithuanian poet today: he has had more than ten books published in English, German and Russian, as well as lesser known languages like Slovenian and Finnish. Almost every one of his collections has been translated into at least one other language. Ališanka travels extensively, often spending time on various writers’ residencies abroad, and participating in events and festivals. He is also a prolific translator of poetry from English and Polish. 

The autobiographical dimension has become increasingly important in Ališanka’s works in the past few years. For instance, his most recent collection of poems, Stuburo Tik Punktyrai (Only Dotted Lines for the Spine, 2016), explores the themes of being a writer, creative inspiration, erotica and memory. Closely related to the author’s own autobiography, these topics are laced with intertextual references that enrich his work with a playful layer of (self-) irony.


Selected translations

Italian: Nel corsivo della notte. Translated by Pietro U. Dini. Novi Ligure: Edizioni Joker, 2018

English: From Unwritten Histories. Translated by H. L. Hix. Austin: Host Publications, 2011

City of Ash. Translated by H. L. Hix. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2000

German: Exemplum. Translated by Claudia Sinnig. Frankfurt: Zuhrkamp, 2011

Aus ungeschriebenen Geschichten. Translated by Klaus Bethel. Koln: DuMont, 2005

SlovenianIz nenapisanih zgodb. Translated by Bernarda Pavlovec Žumer. Ljubljana: Društvo Apokaplipsa, 2008

SwedishGudaben. Translated by Anna Harrison, Mikael Nydahl, Carina Nynäs, Liana Ruokytė. Sätaröd: Ariel Skrifter, 2002

Russian: Божья кость / Dievakaulis. Translated by Sergej Zavjalov. Saint Petersburg: Symposium, 2002

 Translations on-line: www.lyrikline.org/en/authors/eugenijus-alisanka