dacă e să subliniem iubirea, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 6/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: The Subversive Architecture of the Everyday – A Reading of Doria Șișu’s Poetry In this poem featured in issue 106 of ALTCULTURE Magazine, Doria Șișu proposes a radical reconfiguration of the great human themes—love, war, death, and longing—through an aesthetic of the "red marker" and playful subversion. The author does not question these concepts from a distance; instead, she intervenes directly in their mechanics, proposing a "therapy of the absurd" as a form of resistance. The poem functions as a manifesto against the gravity with which we are accustomed to viewing tragedy: - Love becomes a matter of public signaling, a necessity that must be displayed "strategically on highways." - War and violence are countered with an armor of harmlessness ("gingerbread," "lollipops"), a strategy of "brainwashing" with gentleness that exposes, by contrast, the cruelty of reality. - Death is met not with resignation, but with the playful defiance of one who understands that life, being "free of charge," is a gift worth capturing in a "photo of us laughing." The poem's ending, marked by a liberating forgetting, functions as a philosophical conclusion: true freedom does not reside in preserving pain or the past, but in the capacity to erase the traces of everything that constrains us. Doria Șișu transforms the page of poetry into a workspace where, with a red marker, the reader is invited to rewrite the priorities of an existence often stifled by convention.
Polul de Putere (II) ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
Polul de Putere (II) de Claudiu Iordache ▲▲▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 6/2026 ▲▲▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: Power Poles – The Geometry of Ambition and the Archeology of Conflict In this analytical essay, Claudiu Iordache interrogates the nature of the "Power Pole"—a fundamental construct of human society that oscillates between the necessary management of collective ambition and the destructive escalation of conflict. Moving beyond traditional Marxist or post-Marxist readings, the author posits that the power pole is a structural manifestation of our deepest struggle: the attempt to transcend the "Inferior Time" of mere survival. The essay situates this struggle within a haunting mythological framework: the modern power pole finds itself face-to-face with the Sphinx, that eternal guardian of the Giza desert. Just as the Sphinx confronted Oedipus with the riddle of human existence, the current structures of power now stand at the threshold of a new millennium, awaiting a response that humanity has yet to articulate. While past empires have been content to answer with the sword, the modern pole of power faces the existential burden of a silent Sphinx, demanding to know where we come from and where we are heading. Iordache argues that for as long as humanity remains trapped in the geometry of the pyramid—the ritualization of power by an elite—access to the "Superior Time" remains perpetually deferred. This "Superior Time" represents the ultimate horizon: a state where power is no longer squandered in cyclical violence, but rendered obsolete by a new humanitarian consciousness. By reframing power as a reservoir of human resentment, the author challenges the reader to move beyond the prehistory of our current condition. The question remains: can humanity finally provide a response to the Sphinx that does not end in the oblivion of the individual, or are we destined to remain captives of the very power structures we have built to survive?
Arhitectura Verticalității în Era „Conținutului”, de Eugen Matzota ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲
Arhitectura Verticalității în Era „Conținutului”, de Eugen Matzota ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Editorial: The Architecture of Verticality in the Age of "Content" "DO NOT LET THE WORLD DESIGN YOU – BUILD YOURSELF!" ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE No. 105, 05/2026 Abstract: In this issue’s editorial, the focus shifts from the mere responsibility of building within a chaotic world to an explicit declaration of war against the superficiality of the digital age. The text diagnoses a tragic confusion in contemporary society: mistaking the easy access to information for the mastery of knowledge. By critiquing the current educational and cultural landscape—which favors "surface competencies," algorithmic popularity, and hollow "engagement" over depth and character—the author calls for a return to the "pedagogy of effort." To counter the disintegration of values, the editorial proposes four radical gestures of resistance: the recovery of slow time, the embrace of rigorous discipline, the rejection of egalitarianism in favor of an authentic hierarchy of values, and the necessity of creative isolation. ALTCULTURE 105 stands not as a vessel for "content," but as a manifesto for those who refuse to be mere dust in the wind of algorithms. It is an urgent invitation to every reader to stop seeking shortcuts, to reclaim the right to think clearly, and to assume their duty as the Architects of their own destiny.
Eu parcă simt că vine ceva…, de Ciprian Cristea ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲
Despre iubire, memorie și rezistență în „EstePi”, de Eugen Matzota ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.104, 04/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract Title: Of Love, Memory, and Resistance in "EstePi" Author of Review: Eugen Matzota Subject: The Dictatorship of Silence – EstePi Love by Ciprian Cristea In this compelling review, Eugen Matzota introduces a new voice in contemporary literature, Ciprian Cristea, whose debut into the world of philosophical dystopia marks the beginning of an ambitious nine-volume series. Matzota, who acted as a mentor to the author, explores the manuscript titled The Dictatorship of Silence – EstePi Love, a work that transcends simple storytelling to become an urgent radiological examination of the present. The text analyzes a frozen, perfectly administered world where human essence—emotion, longing, and identity—has been surgically removed in exchange for a sterile and controlled order. In this universe, individuals are stripped of their names and reduced to mere statistical functions—exemplified by the chilling identification of a loved one as "7-241." Matzota argues that Cristea’s work is not merely a projection of a bleak future, but a meditation on the dissolution of the soul within a society that confuses absolute control with happiness. Ultimately, the review highlights the central theme of the novel: love as the most radical and illegal act of spiritual resistance against a world governed by algorithms and programmed conformity.
CONVOIUL (XII) ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲
CONVOIUL (XII) de Gheorghe Schwartz Tradus de / Translated by Eugene MATZOTA ▲▲▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲▲▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! The Convoy (XII) by Gheorghe Schwartz Translated by Eugene MATZOTA ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE No. 105, 05/2026 Abstract: In this introspective chapter, the protagonist navigates the unsettling reality of life after exiting the "Convoy"—a regimented, utopian-like structure he refers to as the "Body of the Serpent." Trapped in a city that feels both alien and hauntingly familiar, he seeks refuge in a hotel lobby during a relentless rainstorm, searching for answers among other defectors. His attempt to decode the motives behind their "unthinkable" abandonment of a secure life culminates in a strained, enigmatic encounter with a fellow exile—a man of refined, diplomatic demeanor who embodies the very contradictions of their shared past. Through their dialogue, the story masterfully explores the existential cost of uniformity, the illusion of personal initiative in a world governed by rigid hierarchies, and the subtle, psychological surveillance that transcends the boundaries of the Convoy itself. This segment serves as a profound meditation on the struggle to maintain one’s individuality—and the "small habits" that anchor it—within the crushing pressure of a controlled society.
Romanian Blues (IV) – Fragment din ”Omul de cenușă” ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲
Romanian Blues (IV) - Fragment din ”Omul de cenușă” ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Romanian Blues (IV) – Excerpt from "The Ash Man" by Nicholas Jordan ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE No. 105, 05/2026 Abstract: In this vivid segment from The Ash Man, the narrative shifts from the intimate disillusionment of a weary guide in Scandinavia to the high-stakes, gray-market world of 1989 international tourism. As the Berlin Wall falls, signaling the end of an era, the protagonist navigates the precarious boundary between his professional persona and the "black tours" that sustain the elite cadre of guides—modern-day conquistadors trading in everything from illicit goods to lost souls. The narrative reaches a metaphysical climax aboard a cruise ship in Malta, where, amidst the secret geopolitical maneuvers of the Bush-Gorbachev summit, a chance encounter with a mysterious Knight of Malta challenges the protagonist’s perception of destiny, identity, and the cyclical nature of suffering. Merging historical reality with the esoteric, Jordan crafts a haunting reflection on the role of the "witness" in a degrading world, ultimately leading the protagonist to accept the most daunting assignment of all: a "Blue Christmas" pilgrimage through the monasteries of northern Romania.
Sala de așteptare, de Viorel Ploeșteanu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 5/2026 ▲
Sala de așteptare, de Viorel Ploeșteanu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105 5/2025 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! The Waiting Room by Viorel Ploeșteanu Abstract: In this poignant narrative, Viorel Ploeșteanu masterfully delineates the slow erosion of a life through the story of Evelina, an octogenarian living in the heart of Bucharest. Her existence is inextricably bound to the physical landmarks of her past—the decaying apartment on C.A. Rosetti Street and a towering plane tree planted in her childhood. As she faces the isolation of a post-communist society where neighbors are strangers and her family has long since emigrated to the United States, the tree stands as her final companion and silent witness. The sudden destruction of this living monument serves as the ultimate catalyst for Evelina’s detachment from the world she once knew. The Waiting Room is a melancholic meditation on the fragility of memory, the pain of abandonment, and the quiet dignity with which the elderly confront their own obsolescence. It is a powerful portrait of a soul realizing that her entire history has been reduced to "sawdust swept away by strangers," leading to an inevitable, resigned surrender to the final sanctuary.