“A Literary Gem: now accessible to the English-speaking world”
—Draugas News
Metūgės [New Shoots] (Lithuanian book of linked poems)
by Birutė Pūkelevičiūtė (émigrée Lithuanian writer, 1923–2007)
First complete translation and website text (2023; revised and updated)
by Aušra Kubilius
“I reflected that the axis of Metūgės revolves around the loneliness of a young woman—in a foreign country . . . in the aftermath of a terrible war.”
—from Birutė Pūkelevičiūtė’s introduction
Young forest witches, my young mothers,
suckled me with sweet milk. Stars fell
through my fingers.
So I am like a new shoot — green and
without curse.
—from a poem in “My Mothers” (Section 5)
Startling images suffuse these poems, many of them explorations of uneasy love by a passionate female “I.” The speaker engages with nature, sexuality, motherhood, gender roles, religion, God, war, death, and rebirth. The tone ranges from contemplative to defiant, enraged to exultant.
Metūgės was first published in Canada in 1952, well before the second wave of feminism. Delving into a woman’s beliefs, desires, and experiences (real or imagined), this dramatic free verse initially faced harsh criticism from some shocked émigré reviewers. Later, Pūkelevičiūtė was hailed as an innovative, prescient poet by literary critics and admirers in Lithuania and beyond.
For the first time, the entire sequence has been translated into English: 33 linked poems that also stand alone as compelling vignettes. Eleven of the translated poems—highlighted in the Table of Contents—are available on this website. (A print publisher is sought for the complete volume.)
Most of the poems are untitled. The “p” number on each English translation indicates the page number of the original Lithuanian poem in the first edition (see Metūgės-1).
A second edition, published in 1997 in Lithuania, included a poignant introduction by the poet herself (see Metūgės-2). A third Lithuanian edition appeared in 2026.
For a translator’s note and a list of selected resources, please see About.
newshoots.pub 