Presentation of Tomo Venclova’s book “Abėcėlė. Short stories about people, places, and concepts”

On October 19, 2026, Monday, at 5 PM, in the conference hall of the Utena A. and M. Miškinios Public Library, there will be a presentation of the book “Abėcėlė. Short stories about people, places, and concepts” by writer, publicist, and professor Tomo Venclova. Participants include the book’s author Tomas Venclova and Vika Paknytė-Trečiokienė, director of R. Paknio Publishing. ~~~~~ Tomo Venclova’s latest book is a collection of essays arranged by the principle of the alphabet. It consists of texts in which the author reflects on people, places, experiences, and various phenomena of life. This literary narrative form is prevalent in Poland, where almost three decades ago, Nobel laureate Česlovas Milošas published “Abėcėlė.” Following his friend’s idea, Tomas Venclova wrote his own “Abėcėlė.” The author notes that his book can be understood as a collection of personal stories, memories, and opinions. In writing, he tried to avoid embellishments and be honest. After all, according to Tomo Venclova, this is the most important quality of a memoirist. You are cordially invited.