Ugnė Karvelis facts for kids

Ugnė Karvelis (born June 13, 1935 – died March 4, 2002) was a talented writer and translator. She was born in Lithuania but passed away in Paris, France. Ugnė also served on the board of UNESCO, an important international organization, from 1997 to 2002.

About Ugnė Karvelis

Ugnė Karvelis was born on June 13, 1935, in a place called Noreikiškės, in the Kaunas area of Lithuania. Her father, Petras Karvelis, was a politician who served as Lithuania's Foreign Minister. Her mother, Veronika Bakštytė, was involved in cultural activities.

Moving to a New Country

In 1940, Lithuania became part of the Soviet Union. Because of this, Ugnė's family moved to Germany in 1944.

Her Education Journey

Ugnė started her schooling in Berlin, Germany, at a private school called Sacre Coeur in 1940. She continued her studies at Kaunas Aušra Gymnasium in Lithuania from 1943 to 1944. Later, she attended a French school in Tübingen from 1945 to 1950.

Ugnė then went to the famous Sorbonne in Paris from 1951 to 1952. She also studied international relations at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris from 1952 to 1956. She even studied overseas at Columbia University in New York from 1957 to 1958, focusing on history and economics.

Her Career in Publishing

In 1955, Ugnė began working for Express magazine in their international relations department. From 1959 to 1983, she worked for Editions Gallimard, a well-known publishing company. She started as a manager in the international department. Later, she managed departments for Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and Eastern Europe.

Thanks to Ugnė, many famous writers had their books published in France. These included Julio Cortázar (who was her partner for a few years), Pablo Neruda, and Octavio Paz. Ugnė also wrote about books and literature for newspapers like Le Figaro and Le Monde.

Helping Lithuania and UNESCO

In 1988, Ugnė Karvelis visited Lithuania. In 1991, she played a big part in helping Lithuania join UNESCO. UNESCO is a special part of the United Nations that works to promote peace through education, science, and culture. In 1993, she became Lithuania's main representative to UNESCO.

Ugnė also directed two documentary films about Lithuania in 1991.

Translating Books and Poems

Ugnė was a very important translator. She translated many books by Lithuanian authors into French. Some of these authors include Saulius Tomas Kondrotas (who wrote Gaze of the Viper), Ričardas Gavelis, Bitė Vilimaitė, and Jurga Ivanauskaitė.

She also translated classic poems by famous Lithuanian poets like Kristijonas Donelaitis, Maironis, Balys Sruoga, Salomėja Nėris, Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas, and Jonas Aistis. She translated poems by more modern writers too, such as Marcelijus Martinaitis, Eduardas Mieželaitis, Justinas Marcinkevičius, Sigitas Geda, Antanas A. Jonynas, Gintaras Patackas, and Almis Grybauskas.

Her Published Works

• Demain, il n'y aura plus de trains (meaning Tomorrow, There Will Be No More Trains), a novel she wrote in 1991. It was later translated into Lithuanian in 1997.

See also

In Spanish: Ugné Karvelis para niños