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.
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.
Câinii, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲
Câinii, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 05/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! The Dogs by Nicolaie Dincă Abstract: In this satirical short story, Nicolaie Dincă exposes the hypocrisies of rural authority through a clever narrative centered on two of the village's most prominent figures: the local police chief and the parish priest. Caught in a late-night encounter while supposedly tending to their respective duties, the two men exchange pleasantries that thinly veil their true nocturnal intentions. The irony reaches its peak the following day at the police station, when the two officials are forced into a tense confrontation after accidentally leaving incriminating personal items—a tie and a stole—at each other's homes. With the threat of exposure looming, the protagonist-adversaries reach a silent, cynical consensus, attributing their scandalous behavior to the village dogs. Through sharp, dry wit and a keen sense of irony, the story serves as a mirror for human frailty, demonstrating how easily the pillars of moral and civil order can compromise when their own secrets are at stake.
în lanțuri, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 5/2026 ▲
în lanțuri, de Doria Șișu ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.105, 5/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! In Chains by Doria Șișu Abstract: In this poignant lyrical reflection, Doria Șișu explores the existential weight of living within a society defined by artifice and spiritual erosion. The poem serves as a meditation on the paralyzing nature of conformity—a "chain of grins"—where authentic human connection is sacrificed to superficiality. Through evocative imagery of waiting—words and love standing in line, waiting for the "falling of the chain"—the poet depicts the internal struggle to remain human in an increasingly hollow world. The central figure of the woman, rooted in "clay and soul," becomes a symbol of endurance, transforming years of suffering into a grounded, wingless angel. Ultimately, the work posits that true rebellion lies not in destruction, but in the radical act of forgiveness—a virtue that restores the broken human being and validates the struggle for transcendence against the constraints of a dehumanizing reality.