Robertas Keturakis

Garbės daktaras / Honorary Doctor (Suteiktas vardas 2013-05-24)

A poet, writer, journalist, editor and translator Robertas Keturakis is a long-time chief editor of Vytautas Magnus University Press (since 1997).

He graduated from Garliava Secondary School (1954) and finished studies of Lithuanian language and literature at Vilnius University (1963). He worked in the magazines Nemunas (1967–1989), Santara (1989–1997) and other publications; he was the editor of the newspaper Kauno žinios (1997–1999). Since 1998, he has been editing Kaunas Historical Chronicle.

The poet published several collections of poems, including Amžinai laikinai (1987), which was awarded in Poezijos pavasaris festival in 1988, also collections of essays and poems Žemės vardas (1981), Septyni kalavijai (1989), Jotvingiai (2011), volumes I and II of the chronicle of historical heritage Terra Jatwezenorum (2011), etc.

Since 1997, Keturakis is chief editor of Vytautas Magnus University Press. He edits historical, ethnographical, economy books as well as books of other sciences, almanacs of Šakiai district athenaeum Lygumų šaltinis and the almanac Duc in altum with the works from the pupils of Kaunas Priest Seminary.

The works by Keturakis are translated into Latvian, Estonian, Georgian, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Armenian, Hungarian and Kirghiz. Recently, his poems have been translated into Italian. The writer also translates the works by other authors into Lithuanian.

In 2003, Keturakis was awarded by the Mayor of Kaunas with Gerumo plyta for working for the benefit of society; in 2005, he received the Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. In 2006, he received II degree Badge of Honour Santaka for merits to Lithuania and Jonas Aistis Literary prize for poetry books Trys lelijos šventam Kazimierui (2004) and Ir niekad vėlai (2005). In 2012, the poet received Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize for merits to Lithuanian culture and art.