Baranauskas, Antanas

Antanas Baranauskas, (born Jan. 17, 1835, Anykščiai, Lithuania, Russian Empire—died Nov. 26, 1902, Seinai), Roman Catholic bishop and poet who wrote one of the greatest works in Lithuanian literature, Anykyščių šilelis (1858–59; The Forest of Anykščiai). The 342-line poem, written in East High Lithuanian dialect, describes the former beauty of a pine grove near his village and its despoliation under the Russians (“Hills with tree-stumps, bare slopes! Who would believe in your former beauty?”); it depicted in symbolic form the plight of Lithuania under the tsarist regime.

Baranauskas’ interests included dialectology and mathematics, though his work in those disciplines was seriously compromised by his lack of training. Nevertheless, he provided the most detailed classification of Lithuanian dialects up to his time.