NATELA KHINCHIGASHVILI - Tbilisi State University

ILONA ČIUŽAUSKAITĖ
Lithuania,
Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore
170
Eastern Stories by Vincas Krėvė: Between Story and Reality
The article demonstrates how the problem of moral, existential and
philosophic nature affects the writer and reveals itself through myth. Semantics
of “Eastern stories” by Vinas Kreve is discussed Along with the works of
Vanda Zaborskaitė the paper deals with Regimantas Tamošaitis, Albertas
Zalatorius, Vytautas Kubilius, Dalia Čiočytė, Antanas Andrijauskas, Gintaras
Beresnevičius, Algirdas Julius Greimas, etc. in order to clarify how the writer
Iranian and Arabian mythological plots are combined with the elements of
Christian mythology. Nevertheless, major emphasis is put on Eastern Stories as
it is seen as an interpretation of Lithuanian myth.
Keywords: Eastern Stories, Vinas Kreve, Christian mythology,
Lithuanian myth
ILONA ČIUŽAUSKAITĖ
Lithuania,
Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore
Eastern Stories by Vincas Krėvė: between Story and
Reality About the author
About the author
A prosaist, playwright Vincas Krėvė (real surname Mickevičius, 1882-1954)
studied in Merkinė primary-school, in Peterburg passed the exam of 4 class
course, in 1898, he entered Vilnius theological college where he has studied for
2 years, but because of the odds with the direction of the college he left it. Since
1904, he studied philosophy at the universities of Kiev and Lvov, and in 1908
he finished the University of Kiev. Since 1909, he studied in Baku, read lectures
about Buddhism, and in summers he came back to his mother country to collect
folk songs and stories. In 1922 he became the professor of the Lithuanian
University, was the organizer and dean of the humanities (1925–1937). After
the revolution of 1926, being left out of the way of political life, he started
cooperating with the left writers, former third-front-line soldiers, even with
communist underground. Far-famed and ambitious writer was in 1940 chosen
by the Soviet emissary as the leader of “Popular government”. During the years