Playing basket-ball without a ball

Almantas Samalavicius

A Critical response to a discussion on the state of the art in Lithuanian essay, arranged by the “Metai” literary journal. The critic revisits the history of the genre in various American and European contexts and exposes the weakest points made by the participants of this ill-organized discussion which did not help to clarify the issues because of the neglect of historical dimensions. The differences between academic and literary essay as well as their traditions are emphasized.