Welcome to the first 2020 issue of Diamonds in the Rough. This issue showcases the talents of Marlene Bechtold, Elisavet, Cihan Evran, Jolanda Friedrich, Steven, Svenja Krautwald, Kyra Meyer, and Eva Schumann. These first-year students have been trained to follow an idea, to defend their beliefs, to write so that it remains possible for a reader to disagree, and to put their opinions first, not last.
Our issue explores the personal as well as the political. Covering urban sketching, the perfect Döner, poetry, writing as a help toward making life choices, and magical worlds, our authors also respond to the world of COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the costs of taking any side in politics. The uncanny magnetism of America’s leader is captured in Elisavet’s drawing.
Starting with this issue, the magazine offers a Pandemic Journal. All are invited to contribute for as long as we’re coping with COVID.
Essays
How To Invent a (New-Ish) Magic System (by Eva Schumann)
The City in Paper and Ink (by Jolanda Friedrich)
Why Influencers Need to Speak Up (by Kyra Meyer)
Neither Left nor Right (by Elisavet)
The German Government and Corona (by Steven)
A Native Turk’s Guide to Döner (by Cihan Evran)
Why I Write (by Svenja Krautwald)
Poetry
25/01/18 – 5.23pm (by Marlene Bechtold)
Artwork
Web Design: Stefan Dierkes