LITUANUS LITHUANIAN QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES   Volume 23, No.4 - Winter 1977 Editor of this issue: Antanas Klimas ISSN 0024-5089 Copyright © 1977 LITUANUS Foundation, Inc.

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

The present issue owes most of its material to the Third Conference on Baltic Literatures which took place on April 29-30 at the University of Wisconsin in Madison concurrently with a Rare Books exhibit commemorating 430 years from the first printing of a book in Lithuanian. One of the leit-motifs of the Conference was the survival and meaningfulness—or lack of meaning—of literatures whose natural growth has been disturbed. Significantly, three papers centered around the historical novel or historical drama, and also "modern" epic poetry was touched upon. The turn to history in periods of crisis can be observed throughout the ages: the uprooted writers seek re-affirmation in a greater and more stable past, or, establishing parallels between past and present catastrophe or oppression, turn their work into a mouthpiece for protest.

One evening was dedicated to creative writing, with readings by authors living here and some translations from works that have sprung forth in the occupied lands' A sampling of both is included here, while the greater part of the papers will appear in Journal of Baltic Studies, Since the idea of the exhibit—and then of the Conference—originated in connection with professor Alfred Senn's gift of all his books to the Memorial Library in Madison, a list of Lithuanian literature holdings in that library is also included.