Marcelijus Martinaitis is the author of fifteen collections of poetry, five collections of essays, and the recipient of the 1998 Lithuanian National Award. His major series of poems is told through the persona of Kukutis, a trickster fool, an archaic pagan farmer-messenger, who cannot comprehend and does not adjust to the dictates of the Soviet regime. These texts, specifically, helped influence the Lithuanian national consciousness. His work has been translated into at least seven languages, including French, Norwegian, Russian, and Swedish. He was also one of the first members of the Lithuanian grassroots political movement. (updated 2007)