Between Science and the Supernatural: My Experience with Evil Eyes Sea
On 8 September 2026 our English AP class attended the opening of the Young Programme at the 26th International Literature Festival (ilb) at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The festival takes place every September and brings authors from around the world to Berlin. This year the Young Programme opened with a graphic novel: a talk by the Turkish-American author Özge Samancı, who presented Evil Eyes Sea, a feminist political mystery set in Istanbul around the 1995 elections.
The event consisted of several parts which kept it varied. Samancı began with a speech about her childhood that explained where her ideas came from. A Q&A and an interview with the host followed. Most impressive was the live illustration at the end. The mix of talking, questions and drawing made the whole thing feel interactive rather than a lecture.
The idea that stuck with me was her childhood wish for a superpower. She wanted to move objects with her eyes, but later decided she already had one: persistence. She had studied mathematics and never trained as an artist, yet she kept drawing until she became a published graphic novelist. Her point was that talent can grow out of simply not giving up, making her a real role model.
The visit tied into our semester topic, of science and technology. In Evil Eyes Sea, the two main characters are engineers who think rationally all day but still believe in the evil eye. That contradiction raises the real question behind our topic: what can science actually explain and where do people hold on to belief? The book deals with this through character and story rather than argument, which is exactly what makes it relevant to English class.
I would recommend this kind of trip to any English class, whatever the grade. It addresses a topic in a way no textbook can.
Inside the Mind of a Graphic Novel Artist
On 8 September, our English advance course visited the International Literature Festival Berlin (ilb) to experience a live reading and meet graphic novelist Özge Samancı, author of Evil Eye Sea. The event gave us the opportunity to experience literature in a completely different way and to see how stories can connect writing, art and real-life ideas.
The atmosphere at the festival was lively, open and welcoming. We began listening to a reading from Evil Eye Sea, which combines storytelling with visual elements. Hearing the text performed live helped the students deepen their understanding of the story. After the reading, we took part in a Q&A session, where Samancı answered questions about her work and her creative process. One of the most memorable parts was watching her draw comic characters live in front of the audience. It showed how quickly an idea can pop into the mind of an artist.
A memorable and inspiring idea from the discussion was that you do not necessarily need exceptional talent to achieve your dreams. Persistence and practice can be just as important. This connects closely to our semester topic, Science and Technology, because many scientific and technological achievements are the result of persistent experimentation, mistakes and improvement. Just as an artist develops their skills through practice, scientists often succeed because they do not give up when their first attempts fail.
Overall, the visit showed us that literature can be much more than reading words on a page. It can combine technology, art and creativity, while encouraging us to keep working towards our goals.
written by students of class L_21 Chp
