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IN THIS ISSUELETTERS AND CULTURE. Jānis Krēsliņš, Sr. isa well-known historian, publicist and scholar.The Council of Foreign Relations employedhim as its bibliographer. He is also an accomplishedpoet and translator. Here Krēsliņšputs into Latvian selected verses from EzraPound’s Cantos and Lustra, and from 19thcentury English decadent poet Ernest Dowson.These include words addressed by Voltaireto his mistress Madame Lullin: ...You’llwonder that an old man of eighty / Can go onwriting you verses..., and Dowson’s immortalline: They are not long, the days of wineand roses... Krēsliņš also shares his thoughtson a New York production of the opera DieSoldaten by the avant-garde German composerBernd Alois Zimmermann, based on an18th century text by Jakob Michael ReinholdLenz, whose father was a pastor in Latvia. Aplay titled Plato and Marija, or the Third Mind,has Plato from ancient Athens showing up inRīga to offer his timeless wisdom in personto its not very grateful ruling elite. The play’sthree authors, Leons Briedis, his wife Marijaand their son Adrians live in Rīga and publishKentaurs XXI, a highly intellectual semi-yearlyjournal. The text of the play is enlivened withlatvianized Greek dramatic masks drawn byRita Laima Bērziņa. Lalita Muižniece presentsLiāna Langa as a poet who has earned popularityand critical acclaim for her individualisticvoice, the richness of her language andher unsentimental sensibility. In a prose essayon the passing of Alexander Solzhenitsyn,poet Uldis Bērziņš reminds us of Solzhenitsyn’sheroic greatness. Jānis Aistars notesthat Solzhenitsyn was an uncompromisingcritic not only of the Soviet Union but alsoof the United States and the Western worldas a whole, decrying, especially, its „degradationof courage”. „The Effects of the Thaw”(1955-1963) is the current installment of EvaEglāja-Kristsone’s study of the role of Latvianliterature on both sides of the Iron Curtainduring the Cold War. During this time,the semimonthly Rīga publication Zvaigzne(Star) achieved great popularity within Latviaby daring to commence the publication of anovel by an exile writer (stopped by the censorsafter several installments). Meanwhile,Jaunā Gaita was cultivating a uniquely bilateraldissident status by daring to publish thewords of Soviet Latvian writers for its exilereadership. An essay written by the Latvianliterary icon Māris Čaklais (1940-2003) praisesthe honesty, bravery and simplicity of thepoetry of Ivars Lindbergs, who passed awaythis year in San Francisco. Brigita Siliņa reminisceson Lindbergs’ big-hearted love of lifeand describes the suffering he had to endureas his life ebbed away.HISTORY. Rolfs Ekmanis, in his continuinghistory of international Latvian-languageradio broadcasting during the Cold War, describesthe program content of Free LatvianVoice broadcasts out of Frankfurt, Germany,and recounts how lack of financial supportby Latvian émigré organizations ultimatelyled to their discontinuation.MUSIC. When Latvia’s popular a capellagroup, Cosmos, appeared in concert in Torontoin June, 2008, music critic Helēna Ginterewas there. Her review is thumbs up, andshe acquaints us the history of the groupand with the six young men who comprise it.Ivars Antēns writes that the Latvian Song Festivalheld in Ventura, California, at the end ofAugust, 2008 was a great success and wellworth the trip from Chicago.VISUAL ART. Color reproductions in this issueare of works by Lidija Dombrovska and UģisNīgals. Two examples of the photo graphy ofRimands Ceplis (who is better known as aninfluential literary critic) are also presented.Jānis Krēsliņš, Sr. cites a very favorable reviewof the art of long-time JG contributor, IlmārsRumpēters in a recent Riga gallery exhibit.The exhibit included examples of JG coverart.KIBERKAMBARIS (Cyberchamber). The tirelessparticipants of the internet discussiongroup Sveiks ponder the heavy and troublingquestion of whether or not Latvia’spopulation would remain loyal to Latvia inthe event of a Russian invasion, such as thatwhich took place in Georgia during the summerof 2008.MARGINALIA. The usual wide-ranging compendiumof culture news shorts from all overthe world includes obituaries, new books,interesting exhibits, dramatic and musicalproductions, awards, statistics, and currentevents.BOOKS REVIEWED: A collection of essays byGundega Repše; pseudofolkloristic fables byMāris Bērziņš, illustrated by Māris Bišofs; thepoetry of Juris Kunnoss; the translation fromthe Italian of a historical study of Filippo Paulucci,governor of Riga under Tsar AlexanderI, by Mauricio Lo Re, a recent Italian ambassadorto Latvia; an autobiography by KārlisRitums; a translation of Knuts Skujenieks’poetry in the Armenian language; a travelogueof adventures in Venezuela by AleksandrsTauriņš; a monograph by Mirdza Krastiņaon traces of ancient Balts in Germany; acatalogue of the 100 most beautiful countryhomes in Latvia; and the latest issue of theJournal of Baltic Studies.J. Ž.