Public Republic

By Asya Draganova
A lot of people have told me they find the west coast of England the most picturesque, idyllic and inspirational part of the country… but is it so?
I would like to take you to Weymouth: a small town situated on the English channel coast, in the county of Dorset. The town’s [...]

By Kristina Petrova

Saturday morning. There’s something that makes me love Saturday mornings and I could never figure out what it was until now. I would like you to start loving Saturday mornings as well. Nothing more. There are no asterisks at the end of the sentence, evilly referencing clauses in a tiny font.

Saturday morning: variation [...]

Roger Conner Jr

It was nearing nightfall in Lexington and I had one last destination to make, an appointment that I had promised myself to keep. I needed to hear the voice of living culture.
With the help of the navigation system and internet on my I-phone I eventually found my way to Natasha’s Bistro [...]

Roger Conner Jr
Leaving Frankfort I drove to Lexington, and after an overnight stay in a hotel went to the University of Kentucky art museum, where an excellent exhibition of Ancient Egyptian artifacts called “Excavating Egypt”is on display. This exhibit permitted no photography, and while it may have been possible to sneak a non-flash picture [...]

Roger Conner Jr
Sequel
I was on my way to the old capital building in Frankfort.
Kentucky was originally intended to be called Transylvania by the man who sponsored Danial Boone’s first attempt to settle the area, not because it is known for vampires, but because Transylvania is Latin for “across the woods”.
Lexington is still home [...]

Roger Conner Jr
Sequel
On Sunday morning I awoke early, restless to do something. Still not hungry, but the hotel promised a nice brunch, and I did not want to miss the opportunity to check out the dining room which had been highly recommended by friends and press alike.

Finding my mood, I realized I was in [...]

Roger Conner Jr
Ostensibly the trip should have been a rather mundane one, even boring; a drive to Richmond and Lexington, Kentucky to attend the twin college commencement ceremonies of two dear friends, but for me it was much more than that.
I had made part of the trip before and would be familiar with the road [...]

Jerry Ratch

Photo: evoo73
They come to the new world,
but bring the old world
with them.
The six-second rule.
When their bagel drops
face down
on the café floor,
apparently it’s the old world
six-second rule that applies,
instead of our own
more modern
three-second rule.

Interview with Richard Goodman by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer

Richard Goodman is the author of The Soul of Creative Writing and French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France. He has written on a variety of subjects for many national publications, including the New York Times, Harvard Review, Creative Nonfiction, Commonweal, Vanity Fair, Garden [...]

Joan Gumbs

Photo: laurenmanning
I see them everyday – the Jamaican wanna-be’s. They walk around dressed in dreads, they smoke ganja (calling it marijuana), they play dancehall music (at ear-bursting decibels), and they’re “close friends” with Bob Marley.
A few months ago I was walking in Manhattan when I was approached by one of these wanna-be’s. After a [...]

Eva Stelmach

I sent my application form to the hospital in Lisbon, but I had no hope of approval. I was a medical student and I wanted to have my summer internship there. I knew this could be an unforgettable experience. It turned out that in June, I would spend 3 months in Portugal – the [...]

Barry George

Photo: The Wandering Angel
About midway through his essays in Sun after Dark (2004), Pico Iyer refers to the Tibetan travels of the early-twentieth-century adventurer Alexandra David-Neel. According to Iyer, the French woman described herself as “a Westerner, a disciple of Descartes,” an expression which Iyer paraphrases by saying she was “committed, in her [...]

Jim Embry is a photographer who lives and works in Lexington, Kentucky, where he recently held his latest exhibition. He is well-known for his many years of social activism fighting for racial equality, along with his leadership on issues of environmental sustainability.
Who is Jim Embry?

Star dust, congealed in this current form. I represent the millions [...]

David Harrity

Photo: Stefan Mendelsohn
Which way does the chain
of clouds lead?
Today you find the canyon
and watch buzzards dip
deep into it,
their bodies blended
by shadows draping
the red-sand walls.

Brian Russell

Photo: mark lorch
(The following is an excerpt of a memoir in progress.)

The temperature was in the single digits and a fierce wind blew on the afternoon of December 28, 1977 as my brother Dave and I prepared to fly to Puerto Rico. Mom drove us to the airport reminding us of all the precautions [...]