House of Juozas Žitkauskas

Juozas Žitkauskas. Poet, head of the association "Slinktys", book publisher. Member of the Lithuanian Writers' Union.

His first book of poems "Grafomano įšventinimas" was published in 2011, then followed "Tai - aš. Bardų istorija. Pirmasis Tarptautinis festivalis" in 2012, book of poems "Budintis kalendorius" in 2014,  book of poems "Sakyciniai ir pilniavociniai. Ailėraščiai dzūkų tarmi" in 2018,  book of poetry "Dubeltavos išpažintys. Eilėraščiai dzūkiškai ir lietuviškai" in 2021.

In 2018, J.Žitkauskas was awarded the Prize of the First Lazdijai Librarian Albinas Andrulionis for the promotion of the Dzūkai dialect in his book of poems "Sakyciniai ir pilniavociniai. Ailėraščiai dzūkų tarmi".

He says about his work: "Poems come from an impression. Let's say you are walking, you see something, and thoughts arise. Sometimes a poem is provoked by a poem. Then you wonder - why didn't you think of this before? Sometimes, when you listen to songs, they give you an impulse to create. Sometimes it comes from reflection, memories.

Many people know me as a promoter and enthusiast of Dzūkai culture. The writer R. Sadauskas encouraged me to write poems in the Dzūkai dialect. Practically, since 2013, my work has been balancing between the common Lithuanian language and the Dzūkai dialect. I would like to hear more of the Dzūkai dialect in general."