Karolina Proniewska

Who was Karolina Proniewska?

Karolina Proniewska or Karolina Praniauskaitė was a romantic Polish-Lithuanian poet and translator, of Samogitian extraction. Born in Samogitia, a historical region of Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire, she is sometimes referred to as a Samogitian Bard.

She wrote her original works exclusively in Polish and her poetry published in a single tome Piosneczki initially gained much popularity. However, she also translated numerous works by Polish authors into the Lithuanian language, both in prose and in verse. She is considered one of the first women in the history of Lithuanian literature.

Her own poetry and translations, although popular during her lifetime, are today not widely read. She is remembered largely for her association with Antanas Baranauskas, who became a prominent Lithuanian poet, and one of the classic authors in that language, and whom she is said to have persuaded to write in the Lithuanian language.