Md. Mahbubul Alam is from Bangladesh. His writer name is Mahbub John in Bangladesh. He is a Senior Teacher (English) of Harimohan Government High School, Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh. Chapainawabganj is a district town of Bangladesh. He is an MA in English Literature from Rajshahi College under National University. He has published three books of poems in Bangla. He writes mainly poems but other branches of literature such as prose, article, essay etc. also have been published in national and local newspapers, magazines, little magazines. He has achieved three times the Best Teacher Certificate and Crest in National Education Week in the District Wise Competition in Chapainawabganj District. He has gained many literary awards from home and abroad. His English writings have been published in Synchronized Chaos for seven years.
Did you notice that there aren’t any mirrors in here?
John Biscello’s 5th novel, The Last Furies, is a redolent, speculative box of matches; evoking his characters mosaiced spiritual reckonings; disjointed love triangles and haunted house of mirrors; in a taut avant-garde and hybrid-writing-form which boldly experiments with poetry and prose that is both lyric narrative and dreamscape, not unlike Elizabeth Smart’s surrealist prose poem novel By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept.
With a background in screen-writing, these influences are Biscello’s nod to cinema and emphasis on art and visual components, often eschewing traditional formatting, in keeping with surrealist writer Mikhail Bulgakov’s style, to explore emotion and spiritual quests, without typical rule-book. The publishers, Lost Telegram Press, have created an artbook with interior postcard, to complement this fragmentary style, where cinematic-scene-play, sits with a lush dream-style, reminiscent of French New Wave in its refusal to explain itself. A screen-play within a novel, permitting entry from our own ubiquitous world, to this discomfiting navarre.
Biscello utilizes elaborate world-building images; icons, tarot and psychological-affliction, to represent erasure by the passing and haunting of nonsequential time. His philosophical introspection engages readers to question abstractions of identity, with narratives taking inner journeys. Those phantasmagoric elements are not simply beguiling to consume, but serve as totems to explore more multiplex themes concerning society. A blurring of reality into dream state, permits Biscello to draw on less prosaic narratives and convention, to explore camouflaged-themes of reality and perception, not unlike Aldous Huxley’s eponymous book. This results in an unsettling atmosphere exemplifying humanities primal fear of chaos and instability, where we mislay our ability to comprehend truth; seeing instead, the fragility of reality through surrealism.
Viola felt as if she were watching a scene from a film that had never been made, in a time and a place that had never existed.
Surrealism in film attempted the same; film-makers endeavored to tap into the unconscious mind, harnessing the seeming illogic of dream state, to reject norms of rationalism and conventional storytelling. Biscello employs kindred jarring, symbolic imagery; borrowing film-techniques of non-linear editing in how he writes, to disorientate and provoke deeper consideration. His writing mirrors surrealists attempts to revolutionize cinema from passive diversion, into a tool exploring hidden desires, fears, and different layers of reality, beyond usual consciousness, much as writer/artist Leonora Carrington did. Biscello invites us to suspend time and merge histories, with less scene-breaks and; “intimately swapped semblances of reality.”
The Furies is part memory and nostalgia, part journey toward grasping identity and a powerful social commentary on the absurdity of the crushing weight of tradition, in a similar vein to Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez. “Why so much fear of masks? Because the tears we cry burns acid through em which devours our skin.” All writers consider ‘the unreliable selfhood’ whereby phantasmagoric storytelling skews perceptions of reality, based on mis-en-scene’s instability. These fantastical disparate elements and gathering of icons, mirror a deeper psychological break; considering trauma and madness as part in any stories tapestry.
Biscello’s startling evocation of spectral vaudeville alongside theater, draws these influences to break free of the mortal actors’ stage, weighing his character’s inner-lives beyond performance. Questions of where we go when we exceed our fictional-lives, can be applied to the reader as much as fictional-character, because as a universal question, in an increasing artificial reality, we’re already experiencing this disassociation. With a mystical radio that can defy time and space, through main protagonists, Viola, Evie and Arturo; an actress, playwright, and poet, Biscello engages phantasmagorical means to transcend history and ask germane questions. Considerations of whether technology is dreamed into existence, or means of entering a private esthetic, creating an immersive atmospheric dreamworld and interfacing like radio-waves do? What was once disparate, permits us to see differently; against an allegorical shamanistic universe, seeking the unknown, in a collectivized unconsciousness.
Biscello possesses no literary canon or convention; his surrealist annotations stir in evocative desertscapes, whose inhabitants exist as characters from Tarot, poetry, Joan-of-Arc inspired suicide cults, mystics and artistic-outsiders. Carl Theodore Dreyer’s 1928 silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, is one of the fundamental components in The Furies; intersecting narrative, whereby Artaud, claimed his ouvre; “was intended to reveal Joan as the victim of one of the most terrible of all perversions: the perversion of a divine principle in its passage through the minds of men, whether they be Church, Government, or what you will.” These metamorphic tours through the mutable wilds of persona, are backdrops for profound undertone, alongside an erudite exploration of unreality, mirroring the character’s inner-world. The novel’s atmosphere itself, becomes a character, with its own influence.
Phantasmagorical novels operate on the impossible and illogical, rarely explaining anomalous events within their narrative. Releasing the need for a clear set of rules for their magical system; magical realism can feature fantastical events, in the real-world, utilizing ghosts and prophecy in a philosophical, puzzle-like introspection They explore vertiginous intellectual conceits, not least; parallel realities, which permit the fantastical to be plausible. The bizarre metamorphosis of protagonists, slipping into a phantasmagorical realm, allow obscure magical elements like a radio, to be key tools in exploring more psychological themes of isolation and belonging.
Biscello’s reality is a threshold hallucination, considering individual perceived reality, against a shared universe outside the laws of time, ultimately begging us to imagine, what would we find? Both in ourselves and without.
Phaedra, Phaedra, was it all a dream?
I’m now sealed in and withering
Having lost the golden key.
Candice Louisa Daquin is the author of several poetry collections, and her debut novel, The Cruelty, will be released on November 25th, 2025 (FlowerSong Press).
Every nation has a heart. As long as that heart beats, the nation lives, awakens, and endures. For the people of Uzbekistan, that heart is our national values. Values unite the people, bring them back to their roots, and awaken pride and love in their hearts. In today’s rapidly changing world, preserving and remaining faithful to national values means safeguarding spiritual independence. National values embody a people’s history, language, religion, customs, beliefs, and way of life.
Main Part
National values are the spiritual roots of a nation. Just as a tree cannot survive without roots, a person cannot live without values. The values of the Uzbek people have endured through centuries and never disappeared. In every era and generation, they have acquired new meanings and served as a mirror of our nation’s spirit.
From ancient times, our people have lived by the belief: “The homeland is sacred, parents are dear, and the guest is a blessing.” Traditions such as weddings, holidays, hashar (community work), Navruz, and Ramadan all teach kindness, compassion, and respect for one another. These customs reflect our people’s moral world, dignity, and love.
National values are not just historical heritage — they are a living part of our everyday lives. For example, greeting our parents every morning, beginning a meal with bismillah, and treating guests with honor — these simple acts represent the living expression of our culture, formed over centuries.
In the era of globalization, some young people are influenced by foreign cultures and tend to forget their own values. However, modernity must never contradict national identity. True progress is achieved by relying on one’s national values while striving for innovation. As President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated: “National values are the soul of the people, and preserving them is our sacred duty.”
Indeed, our people’s hospitality, patience, tolerance, respect for women, and trust in youth all express our national pride. National values are also vividly reflected in folk art: love in our fairy tales, bravery in our epics, and life lessons in our proverbs. Sayings such as “He who is one with his people will be honored by them” and “Serve your people as you would honor your father” have long called our nation to unity. Today, national values play a vital role in the education of youth.
Because today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders, scholars, teachers, and farmers — the future of the country. If they know and cherish their national values, they will never fall under alien influences. They will be proud of their land, language, and flag, and see service to their motherland as their sacred duty. Therefore, every educational institution and family should plant the seeds of values in young hearts. National values unite and strengthen a nation — they are the spiritual chain that binds generations together. By preserving and harmonizing our values with modern life, we can elevate our nation to new heights.
Each value carries within it our people’s historical memory, dreams, and honor. The heart of a nation beats within its values. If that heart stops, the nation loses its identity. Therefore, we — the youth — must love, protect, and pass down our national values in their purest form to future generations. National values are not only the memory of the past — they are the pride of today and the foundation of tomorrow. As long as they live, our nation’s heart will continue to beat — strong, proud, and eternal.
Ruzimbayeva Quvonchoy Jamoladdin qizi was born February 8, 2007, in Urgench District, Khorezm Region, Republic of Uzbekistan. The participant of the regional subject Olympiad in the 2023-2024 academic year.Currently a student at Urgench State University.
(Light skinned Latina woman in a shiny blue top with a stylized pink and purple background).
My Mom (In Memory)
She wasn’t the rising sun,
but the gentle breeze of dawn
that caressed my face.
A faithful companion,
a sturdy oak tree in the storm,
she knew how to console my childhood tears,
transforming them into fresh dew.
A mother of four,
a juggler of time and love,
while Dad sailed the seas,
she was the safe harbor,
the beacon that guided our dreams.
She was the most beautiful flower in the garden,
with the sweet scent of jasmine
that filled our home in Concepción
del Uruguay, Entre Ríos.
Kind, generous heart,
a mighty river of affection,
loved by all,
she left a trail of light
with every step.
My mom is not just a memory,
but the constant melody
that resonates in my soul.
She is the star that guides my path,
the warm hug that comforts me,
the unconditional love that
sustains me,
even though she is no longer
physically present.
GRACIELA NOEMI VILLAVERDE is a writer and poet from Concepción del Uruguay (Entre Rios) Argentina, based in Buenos Aires She graduated in letters and is the author of seven books of poetry, awarded several times worldwide. She works as the World Manager of Educational and Social Projects of the Hispanic World Union of Writers and is the UHE World Honorary President of the same institution Activa de la Sade, Argentine Society of Writers. She is the Commissioner of Honor in the executive cabinet IN THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS DIVISION, of the UNACCC SOUTH AMERICA ARGENTINA CHAPTER.
My latest article on contemporary Georgian poetry titled Where Does Georgian Poetry Stand Today? looks at the modern poetic voice of Georgia. I would apply the same question to any poetry of today—in this world of constant changes with dramatically turbulent technological aspirations which still a failure to prioritize and secure peace.
After reading Golden Armor, the poetry collection by Tirana-born Armenida Qyqja, I would rather generalize my question: “Where does poetry stand today?” The answer would be: “At the crossroads” of physical and spiritual uncertainties and escalations, making up the blood and body of any real poetry. These uncertainties and escalations are inseparable constituents of the book Golden Armor as it captures the most intimate and relatable journeys of searching the idea of “the self,” the unattainability and vulnerability of happiness, the unavoidability of fate, and the determined void and futility of the contemporary world dictated by consumerism, fabricated reality, and promulgated injustice, all juxtaposed with the concerns conditioned by the realization and recognition of life’s absurdity.
The lyrical hero narrates the stories through emotions where physical and spiritual quests and pains interweave and intermix without borders. The voice speaking up in different poems exposes the feelings of alienation, loneliness, emptiness, and imperceptible and evasive time. The lines of the poems manifest alienation as both psychological and physical exile.
In the poem “Sons and Daughters of Pragmatism,”the poet calls us “the sons and daughters of pragmatism” who “wink an eye at our own image in the mirror and run along.” The passage sets the scene of individuals escaping from their reflections and perceptions, thus demonstrating quite common detachment from the self of nowadays.
The poem “They Say” also explores unrecognized alienation and emptiness reflected in the mirror. In the first two lines, the piece delivers a vivid image of existential isolation: “I’ve been hiding from myself for a long time, I hide from that emptiness that can’t be seen in a mirror,” somehowreminiscent of Sartrean nausea. The existential plights are further outlined in the poems “Waiting to Hear Your Voice” and “Somewhere, Near the Heart,” where emotional longing for the loved one’s presence and somewhat Beckettean absurdism are interspersed.
The poet’s figurative stance finds particular comfort in juxtaposing images. Therefore, love and war are explored side by side, thus stipulating the fortuitousness and illogicality of events. In “Bitter Thoughts,” the concept of love faces the threat of destruction in wartime. On the other hand, the gratitude for not being born in a war-torn land is tinged with survivor’s guilt. The poet exposes the tragedy of war and the fatality of love through the destruction of Gaza and Ukraine.
Undated Battles also envisions the theme of love and war through the lens of violence. This retrospect might be alluding to T.S. Eliot’s representation of the fragmented nature of human existence in chaotic times. Although the self of the lyrical hero is broken, deconstructed, and fragmented by the challenges of existence, there remains a constant yearning for meaning and redemption in the quest the hero reveals.
The poems “Come Closer,” “Find Me,” and “When You Shall Arrive” still find it meaningfully worth striving to reconcile with the self. In “Come Closer,” the power of love is seen as a bridging domain in existential voids, thus somehow resonating with Rainer Maria Rilke’s notion of love being challenging but yet a necessary “confrontation” with another soul.
One more significant focus of the poetry collection by Armenida Qyqja is the struggles of the fragmented and dismantled self in the materialized universe guided by social media and the futility of its content. “Mental Paralysis” communicates criticism about the superficiality of social media, assessing it as an anesthetic silencing of independent reasoning, quite similar to George Orwell’s warnings declared in his novel 1984.
Spiritual decay and consumerism are condemned in “Mercenaries of Chaos,” in this sense resonating with Jean Baudrillard’s theories on hyperreality, where reality is replaced by fabricated spectacle. The poem diagnoses the modern world by anorexia, both spiritual and modern:
Spiritual and mental anorexia,
that has no cure, no stimulus,
the most evil chronic condition
is going to wipe out the human race
at a much higher rate
than all viruses created in labs.
But still, there is a belief that
this darkness shall pass,
its curtains won’t be able to restrain the sun forever,
close your eyes and see with the light (For the strong…)
The entire trajectory of the words in the book replays the inner voice of the human, attacked by the destructive nature of existence exposed through wars, hatred, emptiness, absurdity, and the fatality of life. Nevertheless, the author does not kneel to all these challenges stipulated by life’s nature but stands up to overcome them all through longing for the voice of love and survival, as the mythological Greek king Sisyphus stands against fate through his relentless attempts admired throughout the centuries.
Armenida Qyqja was born in Tirana, Albania in 1977 and immigrated to Canada in 1995. She is the author of eight poetry books and two books of short stories. Her most recent book is Golden Armor, a poetry collection published by Transcendent Zero Press (Texas, USA 2025).
Dr. Inga Zhghenti is a Fulbright Scholar, translator, and literary scholar whose work bridges Georgian and American cultures. She has translated Samuel Beckett, Louise Glück, Emily Dickinson, John Updike, Diane di Prima, and leading Georgian poets, with publications in the international poetry platform Versopolis, Georgia’s leading literary journal Arili, and Upsala Literature Magazine (Sweden). Active as a reviewer, editor, and cultural advocate, she is a Visiting Professor of English at DeVry University, teaching Composition and Advanced Composition, and directs Language Arts at the Georgian-American Cultural Center Dancing Crane in New York. She speaks internationally on literature, translation, and identity, advancing dialogue across languages and cultures through scholarship and creativity.
