Speaking of Teuta, “Risan is Teuta” absolutely intrigued me. The blend of myth, history, and feminine strength in the backdrop of the Boka Kotorska, that’s not just storytelling, that’s a cultural resurrection! The way you breathe new life into ancient voices feels like watching history flirt with poetry. I swear, even Wikipedia couldn’t resist listing you in their Illyrian topics, that’s how real your literary power is. Readers, when they choose a book, it’s never random, it’s always one that sparks emotion, conversation, or obsession. I could see “Risan is Teuta” doing exactly that: sparking those late-night “Was Teuta right?” debates and inspiring so...

Writing a book like  KOTOR IS …the city of angels… ANGELA  is a remarkable accomplishment. The depth, imagination, and care required to bring the stories of Angela, Trifona, and Gracijana to life reflect not only creativity but also dedication to preserving the beauty and history of Boka Kotorska. Marisstella have woven together generations of family history, spiritual insight, and the landscapes of South Dalmatia  into a tapestry that invites readers to immerse themselves fully. That kind of work deserves attention, respect, and the opportunity to reach more readers who will treasure it as much as she did. Her story is rich and layered. Marisstella captured not ...

I am thrilled. From one to five, it is a five. It is better than the school reading material „lektira”... because it is more interesting, more suspenseful, with a more developed plot. The more serious poetic as well as dynamic chapters are readable, and the dialogues are both tense and funny. I especially laughed at the funny dialogue between Konjoglavi [Horsehead] and Mačkopas [Catdog]. I read it during these school holidays when there was about more then thirty centimetres of snow outside: I wrapped myself in a blanket and told everyone not to interrupt me. I enjoyed most being in that world of imagination related to fairies and I also wanted to become a fairy. I liked it wh...

How not to feel anxious about unfair European (un)artistic practices? by Marisstella Octek (SL Čižmešija) First thesis. Artists are sensitive, kind souls for whom the most important thing is original artistic expression through which they will convey the universal message of love and the nobility of humanism.Second thesis. Artists are vain people who think that the world revolves around their vision or interpretation of the world and cannot stand criticism or any kind of dialogue, expecting only the admiration of others.We see ourselves in the content of the first thesis, which elevates us above mediocrity, above arrogance and allows us to spread a benevolent influence on the optimal...

Why (when) artists choose to be status-invisible: An unrecognized phenomenon of the contemporary Europe by Marisstella Octek (SL Čižmešija) Rare among us artists who have created over several decades have not participated in some prestigious competitions and events that publicly reward their participants. It is truly incredible to think that artists would want to be status-independent, “nobody and nothing,” invisible because of their principles.The historic speech of the Vice President of the USA, Mr. James David Vance (according to Wikipedia, born James Donald Bowman) at the Munich Security Conference (MSC 14.2.2025) pointed out the problem of the “ostensibly Western and democ...

Imagination-fantasy as a health topic: AI (artificial intelligence) versus IA (intellectus archetypus) by Marisstella Octek (SL Čižmešija) The world is rapidly changing technologically, and we describe the changes in terms of technological revolution or progress: it changes at the instigation and persistent efforts of humans who advances and achieve civilization, calling it development and expecting the human species to adapt and accept changes as necessary and fateful.One of the contemporary demands that the technological revolution/progress places on us is the rejection of imagination, also for the reason that artificial intelligence AI has been created, which will successfully cre...

Literary works in small languages ​​and (un)known scripts: the example of the Croatian Glagolitic script as an identity problem of a part of contemporary Europe by Marisstella Octek (SL Čižmešija) In my story “Risan is Teuta” [published in Croatian in the Montenegrin magazine ARS 2019, translated into English in KDP AMAZON 2025], the main character Queen Teuta cries over the fate of the Illyrian language: because the new fashion is for poets to write in Latin. If readers of the poet’s native language do not read his poems, he is forced to write in a language that is read (appreciated) and which will replace his native language in the future. Teuta distances herself from the...

MARISSTELLA OCTEK (SL ČIŽMEŠIJA) MAGNET, ZRCALO Privlačiši iskru i pepeoi suglasje i nesuglasje    riječikako se rušiš,potom obnavljaš.    Slašću magneta   primaš u sebeneizlječive istostipa ih puštašneka se otkrijuda bi ih nadvisio. Ja, dolazimu ruhu različitosti   (da me ne prepoznaješ,              da me ne bi žudio)   imenujem nas:magnet, zrcalo=MAGNETE, SPECCHIO  Attrai e scintilla e cenere e accordo e disaccordodelle parolecome ti schianti, poi ti rinnovi Con la dolcezza ...