Public Republic

Viktor Mazhlekov Talks with the Winner of His Essay Contest Portals, Dalia Al-Khalil

Hello, Dalia, how long have you been writing?

Since high school. I had a wonderful teacher of literature that was encouraging any unusual manifestation of thinking.

What are the topics that interest you in your stories?

I can not and would not want to concretize them. Rather, I let myself being led by the understanding that “The whole world is a story, and every moment is a miracle.” (Bruce Taylor)

Why did you decide to participate in the essay contest Portals?

Because of the idea about the visual provoking the verbal.

What did you feel after winning the contest?

“The number you have dialed cannot be reached right now. Please try again later!”

What are your plans for the future, do you aspire to build a writing career?

Definitely. I’m just about to finish my bachelor’s degree and for some time now, I see an option for my master’s degree to be related to writing because I need to build certain habits, and gain a lot of knowledge that currently have the status “Hypothetical” in my mind. I feel very content when I write and have an impact on people.

What would you like to say to those who didn’t win?

Are there any such people really? We all won, but our rewards came in different forms.

We must never forget that when it comes to art, there is a high degree of subjectivity and the definition of “winner” is the result of preference + personal qualities + luck. We, the participants, had to choose from several paintings and the result was that some paintings were preferred to others, but this doesn’t mean that the rest are not worthy or that we don’t like them. The situation is the same.

I was reading the essays that were published and they all made me bethink myself, and if a work of art makes you think, then it’s real art!

P.S.: I keep drinking coffee, tea and just water from the glasses!

Translated by Jasmina Tacheva