Kristijonas Donelaitis

Here's someone I just learned about this fall. Born January 1, 1714, Kristijonas Donelaitis was a Lutheran pastor who served in the area of Prussia called Lithuania Minor. He wrote a long poem called "Metai" ("The Seasons") which is the first Lithuanian poem to use hexameters--the metrical line found in Classical Latin and Greek poetry. "The Seasons" tells of the lives of serfs and the countryside, and was the first Lithuanian poem appreciated outside that country (although at first in a German translation). He also wrote a series of fables in verse, "Pričkaus pasaka apie lietuvišką svodbą" (“Pričkus’ Tale about a Lithuanian Wedding”). His life and work have been subjects of Lithuanian music.