The stories we bring to light represent important markers of what it is to be a human being living at a particular time and place.

When Vaclovas Viktor Procuta was forced to leave Lithuania as a teenager in WWII, his family’s belongings were reduced to the suitcases they could drag behind them. After six and a half years in refugee camps in Germany they came to New Zealand where Viktor was directed to work as a glass cutter in Dunedin. He went on to study architecture at Auckland University and practise in both the US and New Zealand.

A gifted writer himself, Viktor could have penned a warm and lyrical account of his life, but by his own admission, he has lost interest in writing for the sake of writing.

Recommendation

"Fiona, you and Tony have done a superlative job and I very much enjoyed reading [Dad’s biography]. I was impressed with how much information you gleaned from Dad in what seemed to be a relatively short period of time. Thanks so much for the time and attention you’ve given Dad; its been a tremendous thing for him, and both he and I have appreciated the enrichment it’s given him. (And Dad never never would have written it himself!)"
– Antanas Procuta

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