Annabel Kim is a high school student from Massachusetts whose artwork explores the intersections of memory, identity, and landscape. She often works in mixed media and oil, drawing inspiration from both everyday life and literature. Her work has been featured in student exhibitions, and she is excited to share her art with a broader audience through literary publications.
Lola Ibrajter was born on 11.01.1996 in Uzice. She spent her childhood in Nova Varos, where she also completed high school. She studied at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, where she still lives today.
Since early childhood, she has been writing poetry and engaging in drawing and painting. Since 2022, she has been a member of Young Artists of Culture (MUK), where in 2023 her poem titled “Ona” is published for the first time in the poetry anthology “5 to 12 Time for MUK”. Two years later, her poems “Sveto tlo” and “Deo ljudske duše” are published, and that same year the Spanish magazine “AZAHAR” translates her poem “U početku beše reč” into Spanish.
In our holy religion, acquiring knowledge is considered an obligation for every Muslim, both women and men. Why specifically for women? Because in the family, the upbringing, morality, and knowledge of a child largely depends on the mother. It is precisely intelligent, conscious mothers who raise a comprehensively capable, educated generation. In the development of such great figures as our great ancestors – Amir Temur, Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur, Alisher Navoi, Abu Nasr Al-Farabi, Abu Ali ibn Sino, there was a place and prayers for book-loving, enlightened mothers.
Unfortunately, in our recent history, in particular, during the last khanates, not enough attention was paid to women’s education. In some cases, there were even periods when they were strictly forbidden to study. But Uzbek women, whose blood reflected the spirit of courageous women like Tomaris, Bibikhanim, Nodirabegim, and Uvaysi, fought for education, to find their place in society, and to liberate their homeland from colonialism. They worked resolutely towards their dreams, despite all obstacles.
There have been many such heroes in our history. The Jadid movement was especially widespread in Bukhara. In the 1929s, many young people were sent to study in Germany and Turkey under the leadership of our Jadid grandfather Abdurauf Fitrat. Among them were future doctors like 17-year-old Khayriniso Majidkhanova and scientists like Maryam Sultanmurodova. They aimed to serve the country with science for the prosperity of the homeland. Because the foundation of any society that dreamed of independence was science and the experience of developed countries.
Unfortunately, the former Soviet Union did not allow this. They were afraid of the people who recognized their rights and fought for freedom. In 1938, along with intellectuals such as Fitrat, Abdulla Qodiriy, and Chulpon, young girls with lofty dreams were also shot. However, this tragedy did not make the girls who wanted to get an education give up their dreams or scare them. On the contrary, it strengthened their determination, perseverance, and thirst for enlightenment.
Omonova Sevinch Oybek qizi, 2nd year student of Tashkent Pharmaceutical Institute
Zisis Papaioanou is an actor and children’s literature author who manages to bridge two worlds: acting and children’s books. He has appeared in theater, television, and cinema, while at the same time, through his books, he conveys knowledge, imagination, and values to children. His participation in the new film *The Carpenter’s Son*, starring alongside Nicolas Cage, as well as his books such as *Vasiliki, the Magical Echo of Epidaurus* and *Aristotle’s Walk*, highlight the breadth and creativity of his career.
What follows is a discussion that sheds light both on his artistic side and on the man behind the works.
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**Tell us a few words about your role as a leper healed by Jesus in the new film *The Carpenter’s Son*, where Nicolas Cage also stars. Did this experience strengthen your faith?**
I wouldn’t say it strengthened it because I come from beautiful Meteora — I am from Kalabaka — with the most wonderful experiences I have had. My faith in the Church has saved me during this difficult period. I also taught for years and for 15 years I was an altar boy alongside a wonderful monk, Father Chrysostomos, from whom I learned to have the fitting faith and inner peace in daily life. Everyone experiences faith differently.
The film *The Carpenter’s Son*, directed by Nathan Lotfy — when I received the proposal from Los Angeles to participate — excited me, especially the idea of acting in a new film about the childhood years of Jesus. My role was the Leper whom Jesus healed, because wherever He passed and touched, He healed people. I knew the story through scripture, but it is even more fascinating to live it through acting. I was among wonderful people with passion and love for cinema. See you in theaters in the coming months.
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**Among your children’s books, *Vasiliki, the Magical Echo of Epidaurus* stands out. What does sound mean to you, and what does Epidaurus mean to you personally?**
Yes, indeed *Vasiliki, the Magical Echo of Epidaurus* has traveled widely, has been read a lot, and I am deeply grateful to my readers. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. It has made its journey, and years later it continues to travel. It is my pride. I believed in it, and I was vindicated — I feel proud.
The echo is music, sound, journey, feeling, and discovery. For me, as an actor, Epidaurus embodies all these elements. At this point, I would like to thank my publisher, **Michalis Sideris Publications**, for the beautiful journey of my heroine Vasiliki.
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**In your book *Aristotle’s Walk*, you introduce children to the great philosopher. How relevant is Aristotle today, and what have you personally discovered through this “walk”?**
This particular book is from **Kaktos Publications**, titled *Aristotle’s Walk*. It has a special feature: you can also listen to it with one click via the QR code on its first page.
Aristotle always touched me — his method — and I thought it right to pass it on to children. To your question whether Aristotle is relevant today: I will answer, he is astonishingly relevant in 2025, despite the fact that his works were written thousands of years ago. From ethics and politics to logic and his peripatetic method.
I will mention Aristotle’s view of virtue: he said virtue lies somewhere in the middle. Balance is important for our times in 2025. Personally, I discovered balance in all aspects of my life. It helps — it is something like a psychologist. I encourage you to discover Aristotle; he will help you.
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**Where do you draw inspiration for writing your wonderful children’s books?**
It depends on what I want to convey to children through my books. I discuss it with my publishers, and that’s how I proceed. It is something that comes naturally — I don’t force it.
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**Which of your children’s books is your favorite, and why?**
I don’t have one in particular. All my books are like my children. I treat them as such. They are my creations — I have given them flesh and bones to travel.
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**You have embodied many roles in theater, television, and cinema. Which role do you single out and what did it leave you with?**
In the film *Eftychia*, I played the role of the fiancé. We had an amazing cast of actors, and I feel nostalgic about those days under the Acropolis. The director, Mr. Angelos Frantzis, played an important part — a director who masterfully puts you in the atmosphere of the era so you can perform.
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**If you had to choose, what do you prefer more: acting or writing?**
Both are parts of my life. These are what I studied, these are what I do. And it is a blessing to do what you love. Life is short.
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**Although I first saw you on television, I got to know you better through my friend and collaborator Eva Petropoulou-Lianou, who suggested I interview you. What is Eva Petropoulou-Lianou to you?**
Ah, this woman… for me, personally, she is **WOMAN**. To be more specific, there are women all over the world, but in Greece lives the goddess Eva Lianou Petropoulou. She is the one who supported me in the hardest time of my life.
It is important when you have suffered something to have someone for psychological support. Being orphaned and alone, I had Eva, who helped me significantly to move forward and see things with a freer and clearer perspective.
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**Do you believe theater can be an important educational tool for children today?**
Of course! That’s why there is Theater Pedagogy and theatrical play for minors and beyond. I have taught for many years in the past, and it was a wonderful journey I will never forget. I hope I can take it up again from where I left it.
There are thousands of exercises in rhythm, orientation, communication, self-respect, respecting others, discovering another world and the real one. Exercises that help your inner self and those around you. Very important.
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**How would you like to be remembered by your young readers and audiences?**
With a smile. That’s what I would love.
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**What are your next steps, both as an actor and as a writer?**
I am currently auditioning for three television commercials in France. In a few days, I expect the results. At the same time, I have started writing a theatrical monologue based on a true story I personally experienced, and I would like to put it on paper — and hopefully bring it to the stage.
It deals with the new reality of crime in the center of Athens. Recently, I survived an attack — but it left me with a “why” about a State that does not care for Greek citizens. I consider it a shame that we lack rights while others have them. This is not racist — racism lies within **us**.
In my opinion, we must return to being human as we once were.
At this point, I would like to make an appeal to the Greek State: please create campaigns for humanity. It is not shameful to call 100 (the police emergency number) if you see someone bleeding in the street. Call 100, indicate the location, and leave — but call. Don’t pass by in fear. It is not shameful to call 100. It is help — because yesterday it was **me**, tomorrow it may be **you**.
Our guest today is— a prominent representative of contemporary Azerbaijani poetry, a poet and publicist whose works are renowned in the Turkish world, often centered on themes of Turkism, national identity, and freedom; recipient of the Mahmud al- Kashgari Medal, laureate of the Gold Prize at the International Poetry Festival of the Turkish World, and honorary professor at the International Academy of Turkish Studies, Rustam Bekhrudi.
— In your poems, one feels the “suffering of the nation’s soul” and the breath of history. How does a poet’s heart reflect the pain of the homeland?
— In my poems, the people’s pain is not just words—it is breath. The wound of the homeland beats in the poet’s heart like blood; in every verse, there is a trace of the nation’s tears. That pain resonates within me like music—it is both melody and cry.
— You have touched many hearts with your work. Yet, have you ever faced injustice or denial along this path?
— Injustice has been my companion. Whoever speaks the truth will see a wall before them. I have seen it too. Yet I have not feared being denied—because the truth finds its way to hearts, and walls crumble one day.
— In terms of life and creative progress, what does “patience” mean to you?
— Patience for me is a silent cry. Patience is the silence that holds rebellion within. Without that silence, words would hold no power.
— What tendencies in contemporary Turkish literature both delight and worry you?
— What delights me is the search for identity and return to roots in contemporary Turkish literature. What worries me is vulgarity and soullessness. When literature becomes a marketplace, the poet loses their spirit.
— What does the phrase “literature is the heart of society” mean to you?
— “Literature is the heart of society” means that wherever the people’s blood flows, the poet’s words must flow there too. If there is no literature, the heart of society has stopped.
— In the context of national identity, the spirit of the people, and Turkish unity, how can literature spiritually unite Turkic-speaking peoples?
— Literature can unite Turkic-speaking peoples through God’s same breath, through the power of language, through the power of the spirit. For the great unity of the Turks will not be forged by the sword, but by words.
— Your poems are letters not only to the past but also to the future. For what future do you write?
— I write my poems for a future generation that will be free and never forget its identity. So that the Turkish children of the future may find their roots within my verses.
— In your view, is poetry the expression of pain, or a means to overcome it?
Answer: — Poetry is giving voice to pain, but in such a way that the one who shares it feels relief.
Poetry is both pain and remedy.
— In Sufism, the stage of “annihilation” (fana) leads to “eternal existence” (baqa). As a poet, how have you experienced this spiritual stage?
— For me, “fana” is to turn away from this world; “baqa” is to exist through words. A poet dies many times and is born many times in life. In each of my poems, I both disappear a little and exist a little.
— What is the form of resilience? Which harsh days of your life shaped you into the person you are today, Rustam Bekhrudi?
— Resilience is standing up even after being broken. The harsh days of my life—imprisonment, persecution—did not break me; instead, they nurtured the poet within me.
— In your opinion, what new awakenings does the Turkish world need today?
— The Turkish world needs a new awakening—to return to its roots, to protect its language, history, and culture, and carry them forward. Without this awakening, a nation will lose itself.
— Sometimes a poet challenges their heart to the hearts of others. How do inspiration and creative suffering influence each other in you?
— Inspiration is God’s breath for me. Yet, when that breath comes, suffering also rises within my heart. Creative suffering and inspiration complete one another—without one, the other cannot exist.
— Among the images you create—“Soullessness,” “Tear,” “Wound,” “Memory”—which have you
lived most fully?
— I have lived most in the “Wound.” Because wounds do not heal; they bleed throughout a poet’s life. “Memory” and “Tear” are there too, but “Wound” has defined me most.
— The word “nation” in your mind signifies not only love for the homeland, but also memory, suffering, and honor.
How do you think young people perceive this feeling today?
— For me, “nation” is memory before land. Some young people today understand the nation only through flags and anthems. But a nation is suffering, blood memory, a burden of honor.
To grasp this depth, one needs words, one needs literature.
— What dreams occupy your mind currently?
What are you engaged in?
— From the window of the “Acı Badem” hospital, I watch plane trees whose leaves have just begun to turn in pain… People are like trees! There is no place to run, no refuge here… I once said: “Man is born alone, lives alone, and dies alone.” Now, what is meant to happen, happens! I was born one autumn morning when wolves howled; when the wolves arrive, everything will end! God had given me a mission—to light the path from Turkish lands to Mount God, to read the poems of nameless heroes along that road, to convey the light of the “Golden Apple”! Have I succeeded? I do not know! Such is the life I have lived!
Awake, my soul, why dream so deep?
Another dawn may never keep.
A call resounds from God’s high height—
Rise, let us seek the “Red Apple’s” light!
Jakhongir Nomozov is a young poet and journalist from Uzbekistan. He is also a Member of the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan and the World Young Turkic Writers Union.
