Kertinė paraštė : kritikos ir kultūrinės publicistikos rinktinė

LTKazys Bradūnas (1917-2009) yra daugiau negu poetas. Jis - taip pat žymus išeivijos redaktorius, literatūros ir dailės kritikas, publicistas, kultūrinių renginių organizatorius, sovietines vergijos demaskuotojas. Rinktinėje spausdinami aktualiausi jo straipsniai (daugiausia skelbti „Draugo" laikraščio kultūriniame priede), suskirstyti į skyrius apie literatūrą, dailę, kultūros reiškiniu vertinimą ir sovietinės okupacijos prievartą Lietuvoje. Tebėra svarbi K. Bradūno mintis: lietuviškumo ir nepriklausomybės išlikimo garantas yra tautos kūrybiškumas.

ENKazys Bradūnas (1917- 2009) was an outstanding Lithuanian poet, editor, critic, and cultural figure. Upon finishing a gymnasium in Vilkaviškis, he did Lithuanian studies at the universities o f Kaunas and Vilnius. As the Soviet occupation was approaching, in 1944 he fled from Lithuania to Germany, and in 1949 emigrated to the USA. Bradūnas lived in Baltimore and Chicago. He did various jobs, edited literary magazines Aidai (1945- 1948), Literatūros lankai (1952- 1959), and the literary supplement to the newspaper Draugas (1961- 1981). Bradūnas was one o f the most active Lithuanian emigre cultural figures, editors, and book compilers in the USA. He edited the poetry anthology Žemė (1951; Earth), Vytautas Mačernis s collection Poezija (1961), the book o f critical articles Lietuvių literatūra svetur 1945-1967 (1968), and the poetry anthology Lietuvių poezija išeivijoje 1945-1971 (1971) and was one o f the compilers and editors of the book Lietuvių egzodo literatūra 1940-1990 (1992). He returned to Vilnius in 1992 and was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize in the same year. Written in the classical form, his poetry features interlaced pagan and Christian traditions, the themes of historical self-awareness and the nations fate. Bradūnas published poetry collections Devynios baladės (1955), Morenų ugnys (1958), Užeigoje prie Vilniaus vieškelio (1981), Prierašai (1983), Duona ir druska (1992) and others. This is the first collection o f Kazys Bradūnas’s most relevant articles on literary, art, and social criticism, his journalistic writing, and his newspaper editorials ‘Kertinė paraštė’. They were published in the Lithuanian emigre press, mostly in the cultural supplement to the Draugas newspaper, and are almost unknown and not yet examined in Lithuania. According to some of the ėmigrė critics, in its significance Kazys Bradūnass non-poetic activity compares positively to his creative work as a poet.Key principles o f Kazys Bradūnas’s criticism andjournalistic writing Creativity. The youthfulness and national spirit of creative work are conveyed in modem means of expression; creativity manifests itself through the elemental nature and originality of art. Cultural maturity o f national self-awareness. Without cultural continuity, a nation is doomed to vegetation in a reservation. Conscious creation of Lithuanian culture determines a vibrant public and political life of a nation. Use principle ofcultural renewal. A nation s past must be cherished and valued, yet the present should not be measured by its past, nor should the past be brought to the present like an idol with the hope that it would determine the nations fate. Bradūnas aimed at raising the folk tradition to the level of individual creative work and at complementing the national aspect by inevitable cultural creativity. The conception o f common Lithuanian culture. Bradūnas followed positive cultural phenomena in Soviet-occupied Lithuania and singled them out. He made efforts to take in and appreciate the whole of émigré culture and that of Lithuania, and encouraged interaction of Lithuanians in the occupied homeland. He maintained that ties between people were the impetus for creative efforts. The principle o f responsibility towards society. The aims of the organization of cultural life consisted in introduction of art creators, organization o f soirees and meetings, raising of issues and polemics. Graphomania, amateur and dilettante writing must be discriminated from genuine creation. The level of cultural life evaluation should be raised in the Lithuanian press, while criticism should be based on analysis and not on the recounting of impressions. Lithuanian artistic creation must be introduced to the American public. [From the publication]