Events

Klaipėda Culture Factory invites you once again to talk about good books and discuss their imagination-stirring ideas. On Thursday, April 17, at 6 p.m., the KUFA Reading Room will host historian and Vilnius University lecturer Norbertas Černiauskas, whose books offer unexpected perspectives on learning about (and imagining) Lithuanian history. The author will present his book "Lithuania in the 16th Century: A Historical Panorama," which is a collection of articles written for the 2015 Lithuanian History Yearbook.

Fado. A Brief History of Lithuania That Never Happened is the latest book by N. Černiauskas, in which the historian has chosen an unusual way of talking about the past. In this work, the author depicts a Lithuania that never existed and seeks answers to the question: what if?

The author invites us to imagine what Lithuania would look like if the country had avoided the horrors of World War II and occupation. To imagine that the life of an independent state continued, full of political realities, economic reforms, sports competitions, and rock 'n' roll revelry. This is a book about an unfulfilled history, an alternative version of Lithuania's past that stirs the imagination. It is a story of longing and nostalgia for a time that could have been but did not happen, like a sensual and melancholic fado song.

Another book by historian N. Černiauskas, 1940. The Last Summer of Lithuania, which won the 2021 Book of the Year award in the journalism and documentary category, attracted no less interest from readers. This documentary work is a kaleidoscope of two weeks in June 1940, offering a vivid insight into the realities of Lithuania and its people at that time. In June 1940, the people of Lithuania were planning their harvest, holidays, graduations, and their future. Nevertheless, gathered around their radios, newspapers, or dairies, men discussed the German march towards Paris and pondered how the tide of war would turn.

Living in a tense geopolitical situation, conversations about the past, real and imagined scenarios have become more interesting than ever. At the KUFA Reading Room, we will discuss Norbertas Černiauskas' books and look for parallels between the past and the present.

The event is free of charge, and everyone is welcome!