An Evening With Navid Kermani - A Literary Salon

Presented within the context of the series Navid Kermani in Search of a Common Cause. Conversations Across the U.S. 

Join us and our partners from the Thomas Mann House on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026, for an intimate literary salon with multi-award-winning author, Navid Kermani, one of Germany’s most acclaimed writers in discussion with author and German Studies scholar Friederike von Schwerin-High.
 
Focusing on his literary works, Navid Kermani offers an intimate reading of excerpts from a selection of his texts in German, accompanied by the English translation, including Das Buch der von Neil Young Getöteten (The Book of Those Killed by Neil Young), Zürich 2002, and Große Liebe | Love Writ Large (2014), among others.  English passages from Kemani's works will be presented by actor Moneer Yaqubi. Interweaving readings with thought-provoking discussion, Kermani and von Schwerin-High will explore themes of love, faith, loss, aesthetics, and music as present in Kermani’s diverse body of work.

Admission is free with RSVP above.
Space is extremely limited
Light refreshments provided

PROGRAM:
6:30 PM Doors open.
7:15 PM Welcoming + Introduction + Readings | Discussion
9:00 PM End of Event 

Navid Kermani is an independent German writer living in Cologne. He studied Middle Eastern Studies, Philosophy, and Theater in Cologne, Cairo, and Bonn, where he received the post-doctoral degree (“Habilitation”). For his literary and academic work, he was awarded numerous prices, including the Hannah-Arendt-Award, the Kleist-Prize, the Joseph-Breitbach-Prize, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Hölderlin-Prize and the Thomas Mann-Prize. His literary books are published by Carl Hanser Verlag (German) and Seagull Books (English), his academic and non-fictional works by C. H. Beck (German) and Polity Press (English).

Friederike von Schwerin-High has been a professor of German at Pomona College for 21 years. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the author of a book on Shakespeare in Germany and Japan and of scholarly articles on Lessing, Goethe, Kleist, August Wilhelm Schlegel, Thomas Mann, Golo Mann, Christa Wolf, Doris Dörrie, and Jenny Erpenbeck, and a former co-editor of Pacific Coast Philology. Friederike’s research interests include the rhetoric of biography in works of fiction; translation theory; and blank verse in eighteenth-century German drama.

Moneer Yaqubi is a Los Angeles–based actor whose work spans film, television, and digital media. He recently appeared in a recurring role on Season 2 of FX’s critically acclaimed series The Old Man, and guest starred on ABC/Hulu’s High Potential.
Moneer received a Best Actor nomination at the Diversity in Cannes Film Festival for his lead performance in the anthology series Ramadan America: The Eid Gift. His additional credits include Mike Nichols’ film Charlie Wilson’s War, as well as television appearances on Homeland(Showtime), Shooter(USA), and CSI: NY(CBS).

Secure, free Parking is available at Metro/Retail parking structure with rear entrance to the Goethe-Institut located at
674 S. Westlake Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90057

Public transport is possible with the red line to MacArthur Park/Westlake stop. Using carpool or ride-share options are appreciated.

Presented within the context of the series Navid Kermani in Search of a Common Cause. Conversations Across the U.S. With this extensive lecture series, Navid Kermani, the Goethe-Institut in North America and the Thomas Mann House Los Angeles explore with our local partners how we can build and maintain solidarity among seemingly opposing identities, groups, and geopolitical alliances.