Icchokas Meras

Lithuanian writer (1934–2014)
Icchokas Meras (on the right) in 1968

Icchokas Meras[1] (8 October 1934 – 13 March 2014) was a Lithuanian writer.[2][3]

Biography

Meras was born in 1934 to Jehuda and Miriam Meras in a Jewish family in Kelmė, Lithuania, which contained one of the country's notable Jewish communities. His family perished in 1941 when the Nazis undertook the liquidation of Lithuania's Jews, but young Icchokas escaped the Holocaust.[2] "On July 28, 1941, I was being taken to a ditch to be shot," he wrote later. "Due to chance, they decided to return some of the children. Due to another chance, I fell in with people who valued the life of a seven-year old child."

Hidden and adopted by a Lithuanian peasant family, Meras survived the war.[2] In the violent and troubled post-war years Meras attended secondary school and soon revealed an inclination towards writing when he came to work for a local newspaper in Kelmė.

In 1958 he graduated from the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute with a degree in radio electronics, but began devoting most of his spare time to literature. In 1960 Meras published his first collection of stories entitled Geltonas lopas (The Yellow Patch). He based his sketches on his own childhood experiences of Holocaust terror. In 1963 Meras published two works: Žemė visada gyva (The Earth is Always Alive) and his best-known work internationally, Lygiosios trunka akimirką (A Stalemate Lasts But a Moment). In 1965 Meras published another novel, Ant ko laikosi pasaulis (What the World Rests On). In 1971 there followed Mėnulio savaitė (The Week of the Moon) and Senas fontanas (The Old Fountain). In 1971 Meras presented his darkly existentialist novel Striptizas, arba Paryžius — Roma — Paryžius (Striptease or Paris-Rome-Paris). This work was published in literary monthly magazine Pergalė and was roundly criticised by Communist party officials.

Under increasing pressure from the KGB authorities for his literary "deviations," he emigrated from Lithuania to Israel in 1972 where he lived until his death.[4]

Awards and recognition

  •  Lithuania: Lithuanian National Prize (2010).[5]
  •  Lithuania: Commander's Cross of the Order of Gediminas (1995) [6]

References

  1. ^ Note: "Icchokas" is the Lithuanized form for יצחק, "Yitzhak", a Yiddish variant of Isaac
  2. ^ a b c Algimantas Degutis. "Mirė garsus lietuvių rašytojas I. Meras - DELFI". Delfi.lt. Retrieved 2014-03-14.
  3. ^ Staff writer (March 14, 2014). "Lithuanian Jewish writer Icchokas Meras dies in Israel, aged 79". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  4. ^ Saulius Sužiedelis. Icchokas Meras and the Holocaust: terror and salvation in contemporary Lithuanian literature. Lituanus, Volume 27, No.3 - Fall 1981, Editor Saulius Sužiedelis, ISSN 0024-5089.
  5. ^ Paskelbti nacionalinių kultūros ir meno premijų laureatai
  6. ^ "547 Dėl apdovanojimo Didžiojo Lietuvos Kunigaikščio Gedimino ordinu".

External links

  • Icchokas Meras at IMDb
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1989–1993
1989
J. Juškaitis
A. Martinaitis
Š. Sauka
K. Matuzevičius
H. Šablevičius
Čiurlionis Quartet
J. Tankevičius
D. Dikšaitis
G. Dačinskas
S. Lipčius
1990
J. Juzeliūnas
K.N. Kitkauskas
A. Steponavičius
Z. Žemaitytė
R. Požerskis
1991
V. Bložė
J. Kačinskas
G. Karalius
B. Radzevičius
P.R. Vaitekūnas
1992
V. Antanavičius
K. Bradūnas
V. Drėma
P. Geniušas
A. Šliogeris
1993
P. Bingelis
V. Daujotytė
V. Kavolis
V. Kašuba
L. Noreika
1994–1998
1994
S. Geda
G. Rinkevičius
A. Dovydėnas
R. Midvikis
A. Žebrauskas
R. Krištapavičius
A. Sakalauskas
R. Tuminas
1995
A. Macijauskas
R. Katilius
B. Kutavičius
A. Petrulis
V. Šerys
J. Mekas
A. Rubšys
1996
O. Balakauskas
S. Kuzma
V. Masalskis
V. Prudnikovas
J. Strielkūnas
E. Špokaitė
V. Valius
1997
A. Nyka-Niliūnas
O. Narbutaitė
P. Repšys
J. Erlickas
A. Šenderovas
R. Ibelgauptienė
Z. Ibelgauptas
E. Nekrošius
1998
V. Bartulis
F. Jakubauskas
A. Kunčius
M. Martinaitis
D. Sauka
A. Šaltenienė
A. Bumblauskas
A. Galinis
E. Gudavičius
A. Žostautas
1999–2003
1999
J. Onaitytė
D. Kajokas
K. Pempė
G. Ramunis
A. Savickas
L.L. Katinas
M. Navakas
A. Zalatorius
S. Sondeckis
O. Narbutienė
2000
E. Cukermanas
D. Kasčiūnaitė
R. Granauskas
T. Venclova
N. Miliauskaitė
I. Milkevičiūtė
J. Domarkas
V. Bagdonas
A. Jacovskis
2001
L. Gutauskas
Š. Bartas
J. Marcinkevičius
F. Bajoras
V. Urmanavičiūtė
L.V. Strioga
S. Eidrigevičius
D. Katkus
K. Smoriginas
2002
R. Antinis
P. Vyšniauskas
O. Koršunovas
J. Juozapaitis
A. Každailis
A. Stonys
J. Mikelinskas
K. Platelis
D. Geringas
2003
A.J. Kuras
J. Aleksa
V. Juozapaitis
V. Barkauskas
A.A. Jonynas
P. Dirgėla
B. Vilimaitė
A. Sutkus
J. Vaitkus
2004–2008
2004
O. Baliukonytė
S. Parulskis
J. Paulėkaitė
P. Mazūras
M. Vilutis
R. Mažulis
S. Stonytė
S. Žvirgždas
Vilnius State Quartet
A. Vainiūnaitė
A. Šilalė
G. Jakaitis
A. Vasiliauskas
2005
G. Varnas
L. Oržekauskienė
J. Aputis
J. Ivanauskaitė
K. Jaroševaitė
V. Laurušas
A. Marčėnas
A. Matelis
R. Šervenikas
2006
S. Juškys
K. Navakas
N. Lukšionytė-Tolvaišienė
V. Balčytis
J.V. Bruveris
R. Kepežinskas
M. Rubackytė
R. Sakalauskas
A. Vizgirda
2007
V. Kernagis
A. Andriuškevičius
Š. Nakas
V. Paukštė
N. Urbonienė
G. Urbonas
Z. Nagytė-Katiliškienė
2008
R. Staliliūnaitė-Matulionienė
V. Povilionienė
A. Gailius
R. Šerkšnytė
D. Narkevičius
V. Juknaitė
2009–2013
2009
A. Grikevičius
J.R. Jurašas
R. Kazlas
M. Matušakaitė
R. Rakauskas
R. Skučaitė
2010
V. Noreika
I. Meras
V. Augustinas
R. Rastauskas
P. Mataitis
D. Mataitienė
J. Gasiūnas
2011
A. Žebriūnas
A. Aleksandravičius
V. Landsbergis
K. Grigaliūnas
H. Čigriejus
A. Krikščiūnaitė
2012
V. Vildžiūnas
K. Nastopka
V. Mazūras
E. Miliūnas
Ž. Kempinas
M. Pitrėnas
2013
D. Banionis
F. Latėnas
G. Kuprevičius
V. Braziūnas
J. Budraitis
J. Gricius
2014–2018
2014
R. Adomaitis
J. G. Kanovičius
R. Palekas
N. Savičenko
E. V. Sventickas
A. Šeškus
2015
A. J. Ambrazas
L. M. Digrys
D. Gavenonis
G. Subačienė
V. Urbanavičius
Birutė Žilytė-Steponavičienė
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