Our Winter 2023 issue is a contemplative one, filled with explorations of states of mind, of motivations, of cultural and social pressures, of human motivation, and of personal success. Rich in poetry, we’ve included a short story, many essays, some illustrations and some recipes. We hope you enjoy our work!

Essays
Raidat: A New Women’s Network (By Tamara Al Khaled)
How to Make Macarons – And How Not to (By Christina Brauer)
Once the Splendor Is All Gone… What Else Is Left? (By Katja Kramer)
The Absurdity of Pressure (By Ronja Iding)
Why I Am Not a Mountaineer (By Corinna Schroll)
Two Balloons and a (not so) Cold-Hearted Asshole (By Jule Windeler)
Summer Memories (By Martina Wolf)
Short Story
Poetry
As the clock strikes 12 (By Jumana Fakhar)
These opium dreams (By Jumana Fakhar)
The art of broken hearts (By Julia Giesen)
Don’t try (By Chantal Kamphausen)
Letter Word Poetry: Famous Couples (By Victoria L. Koch)
Loki: Eternal Prince (By Victoria L. Koch)
i killed myself (By Mio Kyiek)
Happy prevails sad (By Kavin Pandya)
When I saw her (By Bharat Sharma)
Recipe
Fantastic Fall Recipe (and so easy) (By Melissa Knox-Raab)
Editor: Melissa Knox-Raab teaches North American Literature and Culture at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Read more of her writing here: https://melissaknox.com
Final Layout: Katja Kramer
Web Design: Corinna Schroll
Editorial board: Christina Brauer, Ronja Iding, Katja Kramer, Corinna Schroll, Martina Wolf, Zohra Hassan-Pieper.