Public Republic

Zlatko Anguelov The feast is over. A kitchen full of dirty dishes and pots, empty cans and bottles. Enthusiasm to do anything is at a level much lower than yesterday. My beloved daughter’s flight to Palo Alto is in the afternoon. My dear son’s flight to Montreal is tomorrow at noon. My loving daughter and […]

Zlatko Anguelov The house is full of people, and the mood is celebratory. I’m baking a turkey for dinner (see recipe at the end). I have to leave the crowd to be able to sit at my computer and type my diary. Well, I’m sipping a Manhattan: four measures of bourbon plus one measure of […]

Zlatko Anguelov When the day is dull and boring, like today, I tend to imagine past travels or dwell on expectations for the future. The immediate expectation is the arrival of another part of our big family, from Milwaukee, WI. As if we’d taken a respite from the holidays, waiting for them to reach our […]

Zlatko Anguelov Today, a heavy blizzard is moving through Indiana and Ohio heading up to the North-East. In Iowa City it’s bitterly cold, although the temperatures are not lower than -5 C. A hot bean soup for lunch invigorated our bodies, but not for long. I went out to buy some Bochner chocolate and a […]

Zlatko Anguelov Strangely, I like the faces of comedians, but I rarely choose to see comic films. Comedians always look smart with their sardonic smile, behind which sits a pair of super intelligent eyes. They look at you as if they know everything about the world … and about you. The thing is they actually […]

Zlatko Anguelov Grey suits this day best. It wraps up the sky around our home, making the house that is lit up from inside intimate and cozy. Grey makes nature silent. I remember back in Bulgaria, where I used to live in a house in downtown Varna with my grandma, the cloudy sky on that […]

Zlatko Anguelov At 5:30 am, Iowa City was dark and cold, but I had my morning tea in the warmth of our home. Two of our kids have come for the holidays: our son from Montreal, Canada and our daughter from Palo Alto, CA. I can’t be happier! While they were still in their warm […]

Lauren Sophie Kearney It may be Sunday, and for most a day of rest, but I will not be resting today. There is an abundance of unfinished story planning that I’m itching to finish. Not that I want to finish it as such, I just want there to be an end to planning so that […]

Lauren Sophie Kearney Momentary happiness came over me today when I visited a great bookshop in town. It calms me down right away when I step into a bookshop. The quietness, the relaxing music, everything about it is like wonderland to me. I could wander about the isles of books all day long. Today I […]

Lauren Sophie Kearney I am in the car and heading for the Burgas mall. Sifting through my handbag, I get out the pocket-sized notepad I carry around with me at all times when I’m out and about; just in case an idea emerges and I need to write it down. There have been times when […]

Lauren Sophie Kearney I went down to the beach today. I’ve always loved the beach. Watching the waves relaxes me and makes me feel free and undisturbed and far away from lives troubles. Some people find the sea a lonely place, and perhaps it is; I feel quite in harmony with it. This is, I […]

Lauren Sophie Kearney Today I am content. Back home, ready to start yet another new life with new surroundings, new people. Though slightly daunted, there is a part of me that is overflowing with happiness. Outside the window I can see beautiful houses, vast greenery, airplanes flying to and fro – I live near to […]

Lauren Sophie Kearney I’m going home today. There is another long journey ahead of me, but I shall just use this to my advantage and spend my time writing. This is far simpler said than done, though, because I am far too tired to write and I spend most of the way intermittently sleeping. My […]

Lauren Sophie Kearney I woke up at 4am to a rather dark, hazy morning; my mind, disorientated and bleary from the early rise. Waking up at this hour is not something I do often, I don’t even remember the last time I woke up this early. This is an exception, though. I’m in the middle […]

AnnMarie Rudin Lille, 03-février. 12 I love being a student, which is something I have not said in a very long time. But my classes and my docents (for the most part) impress me so deeply. I learned so much this morning, but I won’t detail everything. I felt so accomplished afterward, and I wish […]

AnnMarie Rudin Lille, 02-février. 12 I slept in. Overslept is most likely the more precise word to use, for I unintentionally slept too long, unconsciously ignoring the alarms that rang under my pillow. Oops. Therefore, I missed my first class of the day, which was French to German translation. The class is underwhelmingly simple, so […]

AnnMarie Rudin Lille, 01-février. 12 I slept well, but not long enough. Therefore waking this morning was a challenge, but I had one thing on my mind which encouraged me to ready for class: Balzac. I regret not becoming acquainted with his works before now, but at the same time, I am thankful to be […]

AnnMarie Rudin Lille, 31-janvier. 12 I wonder who recognizes me here. Who sees me regularly and thinks, she is off again. My outerwear is limited, and due to the weather, I wear more or less the same each time I venture into the city. I have a gray mantle, which matches the buildings and the […]

AnnMarie Rudin Lille, 30-janvier. 12 It was welcoming to return to a familiar setting. There is an element of calm and of order that I am able to appreciate here, which is much different from the dystopia where I spent the weekend. I realized that I am not who I thought I was. There are […]