Public Republic

Donal Mahoney

Photo: iwona_kellie

Odd the way the very old
pick a winter day to fall,
break a minor bone,
be assigned to bed
and death a bear
napping out the winter Read on →

Dimitar Ganev

Photo: Wonderlane

Look, honey, I love not only you,
I love so many other women,
so many other girls,
that my blood is never calm.
Nothing makes them similar
except the womanliness. With some of them
I have been one year, with others one night,
with others I will never be in any way. I often
write poems about them
and I do not care if they or anybody at all
will read them. Read on →

An Interview with Artist and Photographer Güldehen Yoğurtçu by Jasmina Tacheva

You were born in Istanbul but have spent a great deal of your life in Berlin. How did these two magnificent cosmopolitan cities shape your artistic interests and style? What do you like most about the two places and how did you decide to go back to Turkey?

Yes, I’ve spent my childhood and school years in Berlin: I feel lucky about it. I grew up in two different cultures.

I like the strict order and punctuality of Berlin. But I also like the chaotic timelessness of Istanbul:) (and surely its unique Bosphorus!)

I believe this contradiction has shaped my views and style.

My Istanbul has its melody in my soul, I got to follow that melody and settled down here. Read on →

Dalia Al-Halil
Translated by: Yana Radilova

Photo: winzor2007

Under the bridge is the street gallery – self-creating and self-sufficient. There is a portrait of Christ. Moist has tried to take over the halo. On the left, a girl with umbrella is depicted. Stretching her hand to see whether it rains, but the rain is only below. On the right – a silhouette of a little girl, holding a bunch of balloons, trying to rise over the concrete fence. On the opposite side of the bridge – depicted stairs, which lead to a real nest of unflown swallows.
Read on →

An Interview with Artist and Photographer Peter Lingbeek by Jasmina Tacheva

Photo: Peter Lingbeek

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Peter Lingbeek, I live in Scheemda, in the province of Groningen
(the Netherlands). I was born on 03/09/1976 in Veendam and am 35 years old.

Photo: Peter Lingbeek

I occupy myself with photography and try out a lot of new things but strive to keep my own style. I enjoy the nature/ hiking/ biking.
I like being creative and going all the way. I also used to paint… but decided to do more with photography, although who knows, I may take up art again someday.
Read on →

Roman Kissiov

Photo: (cc) fdecomite

The sky is dark.
The sky is heavy and leaden.
The sky is awesome.
It is shaken by thunder and lightning.

Oh no – just do not think
that these thunders and rumble
are the natural phenomena
already explored by science!…
These are the pounding heavy fists
of the blessed ones
upon the doors of Heaven.

1989

Monika Vakarelova
Translated by: Yana Radilova

Photo: winzor2007

To S.P

1
greasy circles are gazing
going around the surface
rootless mirrors
miasmas
hundreds of diluted pupils
deep streams spreading
dissipating black ropes raised anchors
dissolving fingers clinching the earth
softening soil
no more apples

2
the light bulb in the hall
sinks low
hanging down to the temple
next to the wall hanging down
I stand tightly-stuck
where light locks and benumbs me
invisible planks
never did this case have a key
old stringed instrument
left in the darkness
uncompleted notation unreadable page
closed
like a thought which came to end
thought which
tears into pieces
sharp and dry sounds
filling the air straightening the string
searing the throat
too
abruptly
dying away
Read on →

An Interview with Poet and Photographer Sheri L. Wright by Jasmina Tacheva

Pushcart Prize nominee, Sheri L. Wright is the author of five books of poetry, including the most recent, The Slow Talk Of Stones. Her works of poetry appear in numerous journals including Out of Line, Chiron Review, Clark Street Review, Earth’s Daughters.

She also works as a free-lance editor, has taught poetry workshops and judged contests for a variety of writers organizations. Ms. Wright currently is the host of From The Inkwell, a literary radio show live-streaming at www.CrescentHillRadio.com. For more info on her work, please visit her website at www.scribblingsandsuch.com.

How did you first discover photography as an art form?

It was literally handed to me. A good friend gifted me with a digital camera, showed me the basics and by accident, I discovered the abstract. I became smitten. A new way of seeing opened up, changing my awareness in subtle and not so subtle ways. Read on →

Sheri L. Wright

Photo: “Ladder” by Sheri L. Wright

In 1942, NAZI propaganda spun from a reel of film shot in the Warsaw Ghetto, using the least emaciated prisoners as props to divert rumors of The Final Solution.

They pose us together,
I in my linens and plump cheeks
with her, whoever she is –
wisps of hair barely combed for the camera,
hair that would not lie flat
un-groomed for so long
like a horse left to run feral;

unbathed – I cannot help to turn my nose.
My reaction got away from me
like a dog off it’s leash.
For a moment, I think they will shoot me,
but no one says a word,
so I smile. Read on →

Dear authors, editors and readers of Public Republic,

let joy, luck and health mark every day of the new year.

Let the days of the new year bring happiness and love to our hearts and homes, and let the power of inspiration follow us on every step of our way!

Happy New Year!

Donal Mahoney

Photo: Poppy Photography

“On the sill today
the sun’s pure white.
Usually it’s gold,”
says Nell, propped
in a smock,
all frills,

sipping tea
turning cold
as she braids
white ram
horns of hair
high and tight

to the sides
of her skull. Read on →

A Christmas report by the readers of Public Republic from the four corners of the world

Christmas is everywhere – whether with snow or not, the spirit of Christmas shines in the beauty and goodness of our lives.

Merry Christmas to all the readers, authors and editors of Public Republic that, by means of the language of art, constantly contribute to the creation of a better world – a world of literature, art and culture!

Read on →