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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > November > 10 > Entry
Timeless Lithuania…
Lately I have been buying some obscure books on eBay. Today I received my copy of “Timeless Lithuania” by Dr. Owen J.C. Norem. Published in 1943, the author was named “Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America” to Lithuania in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Norem, a native Iowan, was serving as a Lutheran minister in Montana when he was appointed to serve in the US Legation in Kaunas, Lithuania.
I visited Kaunas in 2004. A strange place. 99% Lithuanian. They know when you are not one of them. Even though I am of Lithuanian descent I did not blend in. Nobody mistook me for a local. Perhaps it was the Converse Chuck Taylor high tops that gave me away. The only red pair in Lithuania no doubt.
I can only imagine what Reverend Norem experienced there. Lithuania enjoyed a brief dozen years of independence between the wars before being successively occupied by the Nazis, then the Soviets. They were finally freed again 20 years ago when the Iron Curtain melted down.
I can’t wait to crack this gem open tonight….
Vick Mickunas
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Comments
By vick
November 13, 2009 9:53 AM | Link to this
Irish, they speak Lithuanian there. My father’s parents were born there. They spoke Lithuanian their entire lives as their primary language. It was my father’s first language. He didn’t learn English until grade school. His parents lived in Chicago for 50 years and never learned English. They did learn fluent Polish though after moving to Chicago. Few people in their neighborhood on the south side of Chicago used English on a regular basis back then. One might assume that Polish is a language that is related to Lithuanian since they share a common border and they have a long history of invading one another? Not true. The languages are not related. Lithuanian has no modern linguistic relatives that I know of and it is a difficult one to learn. I know a few words and phrases, enough to order food and beverages, thank people, ask for directions….
By irishguy
November 13, 2009 8:32 AM | Link to this
Vick, What language is spoken in Lithuania? Is there a Lithuanian language?