Considering that Slovak literature could exist without major hindrance only from 1918, the following 70 years seem a very short period in which to make a visible impact on the world. It is even too short a time to make much impact on one's own nation. And yet the contribution of Slovak literature to the Slavic literary treasury, to European literature, and finally to world literature is considerable. As we approach the end of the twentieth century, the temptation to make sweeping judgements that require re-evaluation of the accepted truths is hard to resist. Perhaps it should not be resisted. Each age forces on its participants its own peculiar optics in which the obvious appears in a different guise. The world of literature is not immune to this general phenomenon.