Last week twenty-one year old Johannes Jacob launched “Birthmark”, his first issue as editor of Voiceworks.
He’s no stranger to the publication having served on the magazine’s editorial committee for the last two years, but he’s ambitious about keeping the youth magazine on course. “For me, it’s about pushing those things we’ve put into place further and further, until I guess ultimately everyone in Australia is weak at the knees, overcome with how amazing young writers are,” Jacob said.
And what does the new issue hold? Jacob’s first issue balances playful with thoughtful including an essay “Where the Wild Things Are” that maps Australia’s cultural place in the Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book. There’s an interview with Tom Cho, author of Look Who’s Morphing and former Voiceworks contributor.
Jacob’s own editorial “Strike While the Irony is Hot” reflects on his German heritage and relationship with language. He concludes that while being bi-lingual can be confusing and it’s also liberating “Maybe… [it] will give you the freedom to start using words with even more precision and even more creativity than you have been, because now you’re exercising some ownership over them, they are becoming your words, not anyone else’s.”