Brone Buivydaite

Bronė Buivydaitė (Mičiulienė) (8 December 1895 – 29 January 1984) was a Lithuanian teacher, poet, and writer also known under her pen name Tyrų Duktė.

Early life and education Bronė Buivydaitė was born on 8 December 1895 in Svėdasai, Lithuania in the family of a small craftsman. In 1900 her parents moved to Anykščiai where she grew up. Buivydaitė graduated from accounting courses in Kaunas in 1912. In 1914, she graduated from a four-grade school in Utena. During the First World War, Buivydaitė went to Russia, where she worked from 1915 to 1918. In 1918, Buivydaitė graduated from a Lithuanian gymnasium in Voronezh.

Later life and career From 1918 to 1930, she returned to Lithuania and worked as a teacher of the Lithuanian language in Skoudas, Panevėžys, and Anykščiai. From 1925–1934 Buivydaitė taught at the Panevėžys teachers' seminary, where she gathered a group of drama lovers and directed about 10 stage productions. She was forced to quit school and hide from deportation because her husband was arrested and deported to a Russian camp in Karelia.

In 1970, Buivydaitė was admitted to the Lithuanian Society of the Blind, which provided her with some material assistance. Despite her blindness, she wrote several books for children.

She wrote her last works dictating to her secretary, Rozalija Klimašauskaita, who in 1971 was awarded by the Society of the Blind. Buivydaitė worked until the last days of his life.

Since 1957 Buivydaitė was a member of the Lithuanian Writers' Union. She was buried in the Anykščiai old cemetery next to her relatives. The grave is marked by a memorial stone with a portrait bas-relief and the epitaph: „Išėjau į šviesą, kad praregėčiau tiesą“ ("I went into the light to see the truth").

Poetry Buivydaitė started writing quite early while studying in Kaunas. Her poems and fiction were published in the magazine "Ateities ražaiai" edited by Vincos Mykolaitis-Putinas.

Some of Buivydaitė’s poems were set to music by Vladas Jakubenas, Oleksandra Dirvyanskaite, and other Lithuanian composers, and became songs.

Commemoration From 1984 - 1990 the writer's memorial room was installed in Buivydaitė's house, and in 1990 her memorial museum was opened as a branch of the A. Baranauskas and A. Vienuolis-Žukauskas Memorial Museum. A memorial board was installed there the same year (author: Jonas Tvardauskas, 1990). A small sculpture garden has been established and expanded in the homestead, children's literature festivals are organized here, the writer's works are performed, and the Anykštėnai creative bookstore "Auksinis batelis" is open.

Buivydaitė's birthplace in Svėdasais is marked with a commemorative plaque (1990), the street near her birthplace in Svėdasais is named after her. An exposition has been installed in the museum of Svėdasai region (Vaižgant).