Ugnė Karvelis (13 June 1935 – 4 March 2002, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) was a writer, a translator and a member of the UNESCO Executive Board from 1997 to 2002.

Biography

Karvelis was born in Noreikiškės, Kaunas district on 13 June 1935, to Lithuanian politician Petras Karvelis (1925-1929 Foreign Minister of Lithuania) and Veronika Bakštytė, a cultural activist. Following the 1940 incorporation of Lithuanie into the Soviet Union, the Karvelis family emigrated to Germany in 1944. In 1940, Karvelis enrolled in ''Sacre Coeur'', a private school in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. She continued her studies at Kaunas ''Aušra'' Gymnasium (1943-1944) and

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

French school (1945-1950). Karvelis studied at the Sorbonne (1951-1952) and then in the international relations department at Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris from 1952 to 1956. Karvelis furthered her studies overseas at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York in the history and economics departments from 1957 to 1958. In 1955. Karvelis began working for Express magazine in the international relations department. From 1959 to 1983, she worked as a publisher and editor for Editions Gallimard, beginning as an international department manager, and later managing the Latin America, Spain, Portugal and Eastern Europe departments. Thanks to her, many renowned writers such as Julio Cortázar (her partner between 1967 and 1970),

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

, and

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, a ...

were published in France. Karvelis also worked as a literary critic publishing in ''Le Figaro'' and ''Le Monde''. In 1988, Karvelis visited Lithuania and in 1991 helped Lithuania to join

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. In 1993 she became

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

's permanent delegate to UNESCO. In 1991, Karvelis directed two documentary movies about Lithuania. She translated many Lithuanian authors into French, most notably novels by Saulius Tomas Kondrotas (''Gaze of the Viper'' )),

Ričardas Gavelis Ričardas Gavelis (8 October 1950 – 18 August 2002) was a Lithuanian writer, playwright, journalist, and theoretical physicist. He is most known for novels such as ''Vilnius Poker'' and ''Memoirs of a Young Man''. Gavelis grew up near a monaste ...

, Bitė Vilimaitė, and

Jurga Ivanauskaitė Jurga Ivanauskaitė (14 November 1961 – 17 February 2007) was a Lithuanian writer. She was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. While studying at the Vilnius Art Academy, she wrote her first book, ''The Year of the Lilies of the Valley'', published in ...

. She translated classic poems by Kristijonas Donelaitis,

Maironis Maironis (born Jonas Mačiulis, ; – 28 June 1932) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest and the greatest and most-known Lithuanian poet, especially of the period of the Lithuanian press ban. He was called the Bard of Lithuanian Na ...

Balys Sruoga Balys Sruoga (2 February 1896 – 16 October 1947) was a Lithuanian poet, playwright, critic, and literary theorist. He contributed to cultural journals from his early youth. His works were published by the liberal wing of the Lithuanian cultura ...

, Salomėja Nėris, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, and Jonas Aistis. Additionally she translated poems by modern authors: Marcelijus Martinaitis (''Passerelle de nuages'' ), Eduardas Mieželaitis,

Justinas Marcinkevičius Justinas Marcinkevičius (10 March 1930 – 16 February 2011) was a prominent Lithuanian poet and playwright. Life and career Marcinkevičius was born in 1930 in Važatkiemis, Prienai district municipality, Prienai District. In 1954, he gra ...

, Sigitas Geda, Antanas A. Jonynas, Gintaras Patackas, and Almis Grybauskas among others.

Works of note

* ''Demain, il n'y aura plus de trains'', 1991, novel (, 1997).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karvelis, Ugne 1935 births 2002 deaths Lithuanian translators Columbia University alumni Permanent delegates of Lithuania to UNESCO Translators from Lithuanian Translators to French Lithuanian women diplomats Lithuanian women ambassadors 20th-century Lithuanian women writers 20th-century Lithuanian writers Julio Cortázar 20th-century translators