Why Was This Crossed Out? The History of Writing and Editing the book “Forest of the Gods”
18 December 2025 – 31 December 2026
Professors’ House, 10–3 Tauras Street
Forest of the Gods by Balys Sruoga is one of the most prominent works in Lithuanian literature, attesting to personal tragedy, the hope for survival, and the difficult history of censorship. Despite three important editions of this canonical work (1957, 1997, 2005), none fully reveal the author’s intention. Today, Forest of the Gods is still reminiscent of a crumbling mosaic – some of its fragments remain a mystery, and its editing history reminds us of a complex maze through which editors have been trying to navigate to this day.
In 1945, Balys Sruoga came back to his apartment on Tauras Street in Vilnius, finished writing Forest of the Gods, and gave the manuscript to the publishing house. The editor-in-chief, Valys Drazdauskas, took on the task of editing the novel, but both the author and the editor fell into the hands of the censors. Balys Sruoga tried to break free from the shackles of Stalinist ideology – he defended the parts of his work that had been crossed out by the editor on the orders of the censor. Today, the notes written on small pieces of paper attached to the pages of the manuscript stand as a testimony of the author’s unique voice and the dramatic battle for the freedom of his work.
The exhibition “Why Was This Crossed Out? The History of Writing and Editing Forest of the Gods” invites you to experience the history of this work and to hear the story from the author himself: how the editing of the novel was done, why there was such a fierce battle for each fragment, what the author expected from the editors, and what remains unrealised. The exhibition also reminds us that the suffering of Balys Sruoga did not end in the winter of 1945 when the concentration camp was evacuated, nor did it end with the last full stop in the manuscript – upon his return to Lithuania, he had lost his family, was shackled by the Soviet regime, and was left with a sense of contempt for both creativity and humanity.
Exhibition curators: Dr Neringa Markevičienė and Miglė Baltrukevičienė
Exhibition designer: Rokas Kilčiauskas
Graphic designer: Vilija Biekšaitė
Coordinator: Rūta Elijošaitytė-Kaikarė
Organisers: The public institution “Vilnius UNESCO City of Literature”, Professors’ House
Special thanks to: The Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, The Maironis Museum of Lithuanian Literature, and Aurimas Markevičius.