What is Hööligan?

When I was growing up my parents would take us on trips to Streda Nad Bodrogom, Slovakia to visit my family. My mother was born in Slovakia and escaped to America when she was no more than a couple years old. My great uncle named Mischka (Mike in Slovak) does not speak English but has always found a way to communicate with us over the years. Although his use of the language was not the best, he does have a couple words he likes to throw around that the family has the ability to translate. One of those words being Hooligan. He would say this if my Dad would mess something up or he would just use it as a general descriptive word for somebody he didn't like. In other words, the word had no real meaning behind it, but everyone knew exactly what he was trying to say.

As time moved on and I realized I wanted to create a space where I can speak freely for myself and anyone else who would like to, I needed a name that had a similar feeling to that idea of free thought.. Hooligan continued to stick in my head as years progressed and it seems like the perfect word to describe what I want this creative space to be. Introspective yet chaotic, wrong but right. Not everything written down and put on a website needs to be correct in every way. The whole way that people form their opinions are by listening to others. I want the creatives to be able to feel like they have full control and I want the reader to feel like their opinion matters. 

As time goes on maybe Hooligan doesn't make the kind of creative dent that I have foreseen in my head but maybe it can give a couple people the opportunity to feel seen or heard in a society that likes to listen to no one. This is Hööligan. 

- Santé Dybowski

Founder/Editor in Chief