White Stockings: A Poetic Study of Mythical Freedom Fighters

• In Event: Illustrating Baltic Experience: Hybrid Texts and Contexts

Abstract

This presentation will include short excerpts from my essay featured in VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and from my interview featured in Rain Taxi. I will also read selected poems from my poetry chapbook, White Stockings.
I will discuss recent documented evidence of the existence of the White Stockings——a group of "mythical" female Baltic freedom fighters/snipers——and read poems from my recent chapbook dedicated to them.
The chapbook consists of 15-20 short poems from the perspective of each sniper——her thoughts or mission objectives, what each woman struggles with in her position.
White Stockings is, at its heart, about the violent acts of these female snipers and explores how they reconcile these acts to protect one's ethnicity or identity. It also touches upon sexist views and how powerful/strong women are portrayed in film and literature.
I will show 3-5 cinepoems put together with the help of my collaborator, Tess Corest.
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About White Stockings
https://linaramona.com/white-stockings/

VIDA
http://www.vidaweb.org/report-from-the-field-white-stockings-a-poetic-study-of-mythical-freedom-fighters/

Rain Taxi
http://www.raintaxi.com/evoking-female-spirits-an-interview-with-lina-vitkauskas/

The Conversant
http://theconversant.org/?p=10143

Poems in the Vilnius Review
http://vilniusreview.com/poetry/201-lina-ramona-vitkauskas

Poem in Berfrois - shortlisted for a poetry prize
http://www.berfrois.com/2017/01/swamps-every-instant-yulia-lina-ramona-vitkauskas/

Photo Gallery
https://linaramona.com/2016/04/28/white-stockings-photo-gallery/

Short Bio

Lina Ramona Vitkauskas (Lithuanian-American-Canadian) is the author of White Stockings (White Hole Press, 2016); SPINY RETINAS (Mutable Sound, 2014); A Neon Tryst (Shearsman Books, 2013); HONEY IS A SHE (Plastique Press, 2012); THE RANGE OF YOUR AMAZING NOTHING (Ravenna Press, 2010); and Failed Star Spawns Planet/Star (dancing girl press, 2006). In 2013, Eleni Sikelianos selected her for the Henry Miller Memorial Library Ping Pong Journal Award, and in 2009, Brenda Hillman selected her for The Poetry Center of Chicago’s Juried Reading Award. Her website is linaramona.com.

Author

• Lina Ramona Vitkauskas, Poet/Author