The Lithuanian writers’ association in America as a memory istitution of the Lithuanian diaspopra
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvių rašytojų draugija; Užsienio lietuviai; Rašytojai; Literatūra; Lietuvių draugijos; Emigrantai (Diaspora); Lithuanian Writers' Association; Lithuanians in USA; Writers; Lithuanian literature; Lithuanian societies; Diaspora.
ENThe subject of this report is the activities of Lithuanian Writers' Association (LWA) in America in 1950-1990. The Lithuanian Writers' Association (LWA), established at the Faculty of Humanities of the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, on February 21, 1932, is the first independent organization uniting Lithuanian writers, translators, literary researchers, and critics. Active in Lithuania until 1944, the organization was restored in Tübingen, Germany, in 1946 by Lithuanian WWII refugee writers who fled their homeland, escaping the second Soviet occupation, and was renamed the Lithuanian Refugee Authors' Society. From 1950 until the present, the Association remains active in the United States of America. Lithuanian Writers' Association activities previously have not been studied more widely neither in Lithuania nor in exile. Only the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania prepared an exhibition "The Lithuanian Writers' Association: Seven Decades of History" on 2017. The exhibition shows the history of the LWA through a wide variety of documents stored at the Lithuanian Research and Studies Center in Chicago, such as letters, minutes of meetings, announcements, bulletins, and other documents related to the Association's day-to-day business, as well as photos and audio clips.This is the first visual presentation of the Society from the Restoration of Lithuania's Independence. It is noted in the report that the Association had the uniting function for Lithuanian Writers living in the United States, and in Canada, Great Britain, Australia too. It sought to promote Lithuanian literature and culture, and maintained contacts with other countries' writers' associations. LWA's prerogative was the publication of its members' books and collected writings, giving the recommendations and the award for the best book in the year. The activities of the Association were very important for Baltic diaspora communities in America. Documents show co-operation with Latvian and Estonian writers in different countries. The primary source of this report is the Lithuanian Writers' Association's archival fund, stored in the World Lithuanians Archives of Center for Lithuanian Research and Studies in Chicago, USA. [From the publication]
