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Exploring new German voices: Sonali Beher & Iven Yorick Fenker

Reading and Talk|GEGENÜBER Talks – Literature Across Borders

An image of two people on a gray background with the inscription GEGENÜBER TALKS and a lightning-like graphic in blue © Ricardo Roa

An image of two people on a gray background with the inscription GEGENÜBER TALKS and two lightning-like graphics in blue and orange. © Ricardo Roa

The GEGENÜBER magazine of the Goethe-Institut in North America presents a series of online conversations with contemporary German-language authors.

Contribution from the Goethe-Institut Washington
Exploring new German voices
Talk and reading: Authors Sonali Beher & Iven Yorick Fenker in conversation with Katea Stitt. 

GEGENÜBER TALKS – Literatur Across Borders brings you two new emerging voices from Germany. Sonali Beher and Iven Yorick Fenker will read selected texts and discuss concepts of identity, transatlantic relations, their literary journey along the East Coast, and the issue of not having a driver's license with the audience. Both authors are on tour in the U.S. as part of ON THE ROAD until the beginning of October.

About the participants

Sonali Beher, born in 1997 in Gießen, Germany, studied English and Political Science in Heidelberg before beginning her studies in Literary Writing at the German Institute for Literature Leipzig in 2023. Alongside her academic work, she supports NGOs dedicated to strengthening democracy. Beher writes across genres, including prose, essays, poetry, and dramatic texts, with a focus on how the personal and political intersect. Her writing often explores themes such as German identity, womanhood, and labor. In 2024, her short play Mensch mit Kopf was staged at the Kabinetttheater in Vienna, Austria.

As part of the ON THE ROAD project, Sonali Beher and Iven Yorick Fenker travel across the United States in the fall of 2025. Throughout their journey, they share regular updates in the form of notes, in-depth texts, and visual content documenting their experiences.

Iven Yorick Fenker, born in 1994, grew up in the Harz region of Germany, an area once divided by the inner-German border and often the setting for his writing. His work explores themes of masculinity, fascism, football, and love. He is currently studying at the German Institute for Literature Leipzig and works as a writer, filmmaker, and journalist, contributing to outlets such as DIE ZEIT in Berlin. His text Dornen Donner Stoßgebet was nominated for the “Wortmeldungen Förderpreis” award. His film die kastanie was screened at several festivals and won the Youth Jury Prize at the Vienna Shorts in 2025.

As part of the ON THE ROAD project, Iven Yorick Fenker and Sonali Beher travel across the United States in the fall of 2025. Throughout their journey, they share regular updates in the form of notes, in-depth texts, and visual content documenting their experiences.

Katea Stitt attended Georgetown University, and began her career as a performing arts producer in 1987. In 1994, she launched her company, Anyanwu Management, to offer event, tour, and artist management services to individuals, ensembles, and organizations.
Since 1991, she has hosted Beyond Borders, a weekly Jazz/World Music program, on DC Pacifica station WPFW. She is currently Program Director for Pacifica radio station WPFW in Washington, DC, and Tour Manager for singing ensemble Sweet Honey In The Rock.

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