K. Jurgelionis, Gludi-Liudi (Chicago: Naujienos Publishing Company, 1916).

Lovers of literature will be pleased to obtain this volume of lyric poems. It contains poems written at various times and in various forms. Because the evaluation of poetry is a subjective matter (and because, on the other hand, it is not appropriate for one to praise or condemn one's own wares), we leave it to the readers of the volume to be their own judges. They should obtain it as soon as possible.

Here we can call attention only to the author's preface to his poems in which, while supposedly criticizing his poems, he makes several original observations on the forms and motifs in poetry. We therefore quote a part of the preface here.

"For purposes of critical evaluation of the poetry," says the author, speaking 2of his own poems, "it should be said that they are indirect criticisms of this and that in Lithuanian prose. Some of the later [poems] are direct criticisms of earlier ones. That is part of the reason for the variety of forms and motifs [contained in this volume].

"New motifs were sought consciously and unconsciously, and new motifs were forced to give birth to new forms, and new forms to new motifs. You could say the process acted against the older forms and motifs, though it did not threaten to reject the one or the other. The older forms had to endure and become more perfect when applied to the new motifs. The same had to happen to the old motifs in new forms. For all forms are good if they achieve the desired result completely--the direct and effective expression of the beauty felt by the poet. The poet must be a complete and mighty master of form, but one cannot be a poet when he places himself under the yoke of a limited form.

"Form is a basic condition of art, but it must be born together with motif. A motif ceases being a motif when it cannot find its form, and a motif and a form 3which have no connection cannot be the material to create art. There are countless motifs and there can be as many forms. Their source can be found in the harmonized vibrations of the poet's soul (interpret this picturesque expression as you will), and only the vibrations of the poet's soul can give birth freely to the motif and form of poetry. The criterion of poetry, then, remains the degree of perfection in the harmony between form and motif--the fruit of deeper meditation (or talent).

"Our older poets had only a limited number of motifs which they strove to express in an even more limited number of forms, rarely achieving perfection in them. Almost all their forms were borrowed; and their motifs most often were imitations of the motifs of the poets of other nations. Even their knowledge of the language and their aptitude in its use created no small obstacles to their efforts. Therein lies the reason for their monotony and the 'manufactured effect' in their verses; therein lies the reason for their bombast and doubts regarding the poetic value of their poems.

"However, nothing remains in one place forever. And the poetry of the 4Lithuanians is no exception. Doubts about the older poets, discontent with them, and the examination of their faults had to lead somewhere out of the stagnation which had come to exist. Though it was not clear and is today not clear to many toward which new harbors we should sail, more than one of us younger poets have begun and are beginning 'to seek new paths' in a degree dependent on how greatly we are influenced by the older poets. More and more, new motifs which flow more freely from their souls are being found by the younger poets, though they have not yet found suitable forms. We can expect, however, that having begun to seek out new pathways, the poets will find a good one, and forms and motifs will unite spontaneously."

Our poets rarely attempted to write prefaces to their poems, although this was practiced elsewhere (especially long ago). In our time, the English writer, B. Shaw, has distinguished himself with the prefaces to his plays. Only one interesting preface, it seems, has appeared in Lithuanian literature to date. That is Reverend K. Alekna's preface to his work, Stories, Adaptations, and Weddings, with Songs. The preface was written in Polish, although the book was in Lithuanian.