Photo by Ilona Kukenytė

Juozas Erlickas (born 1953) received the National Prize in 1997, and legend has it that his reaction to the news was “it is better to get the National Prize than punched in the face.” Whether the legend is true or not, it perfectly sums up both Erlickas’ style and attitude. He debuted already in 1979, but really found his footing as a writer in the early 90s, when he became a columnist for one of the largest national newspapers. Many of his books are collections of material previously published in his column. 

Erlickas is easily one of the most popular and the most productive Lithuanian writers. Often he provides an acerbic commentary to social and political realities of the time, but sometimes he tragicomically describes the human condition itself. His trademark is the subversive wordplay, puns and deconstruction of linguistic cliches and idioms. 

Pranašystės (Prophecies). Vilnius: Tyto alba, 2019, – 296 pp. 

Advertised as “the book that will change your character, your lifestyle and possibly even your place of residence,” it is once again a collection of miniatures, poems and other short texts that are difficult to classify generically, but contain all the signature features of their author. There’s lots of politics and current affairs, but also more general commentary on culture and everyday life. The comedy is bitter, sometimes quite dark, and often making light of otherwise really sad and serious topics like addiction. Some of it may feel misogynous or xenophobic, but then again, there is nothing PC about Erlickas.