One of the most well-known poets of the newest generation, Mantas Balakauskas debuted in 2016 with his poetry collection Roma [Rome]. The title was chosen for a reason – the book is an attempt to build on ruins, an attempt to write while understanding that these efforts are secondary, for everything happens now after all the battles have been fought. But this does not mean that we don’t need to fight or write. Mantas’ poetry is shot through with creative fury. It is, despite the title, very much contemporary. Social problems, our society, the individual’s place in a fragmented world – all fall into its range of vision. According to the critic Neringa Butnoriūtė, “cities are already built, ideologies already formed, so we can now play with the not always polite means of provoking them.” Balakauskas plays – seriously, passionately, ironically.