Augustinas Gricius

Born Dec. 25, 1899, in the village of Ŝiupylių, in present-day Siauliai Raion. Soviet Lithuanian writer. Honored Art Worker of the Lithuanian SSR(1954).

Gricius published his first collection of humorous stories, Čin-či-be-ris, in 1925. From 1928 to 1931 he published collections of satirical stories and topical satire and also the comedy Palanga (1931), in which he ridiculed various aspects of the way of life and morals of the bourgeoisie. In the plays Fragments (1948) and On the Eve (1951), which were written during the Soviet period, he depicted the class struggle in the last days of bourgeois dominance and the first postwar years. His best play, The Hot Summer (1955), depicts the ideological evolution of the old intelligentsia during the building of a new life in Lithuania. In the satirical comedies Sowing and Harvesting (1962) and It Was, It Was, As If It Were Not (1963), Gricius describes kolkhoz life. The film comedy The Turkeys (1959) was based on Gricius’ scenario. His collection of stories People (1960) contains lively scenes from rural life. He has also translated and written essays. He has been awarded two orders and also medals.