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5:30 PM, ET

Among Friends: On the Road @ Philadelphia, PA

Reading and Talk|Two German authors in the U.S.

Free tickets

ON THE ROAD - PHILADELPHIA © Goethe-Institut, Ricardo Roa

Writings, reflections, and conversations along the East Coast of the USA: Two authors from Germany – Sonali Beher and Iven Yorick Fenker, both students of the Literature Institute Leipzig – travel along the East Coast of the USA, from New York to Texas. Follow the two and discover the literary voices of a new generation.

ON THE ROAD is realized in cooperation with the German Literature Institute Leipzig and under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Ulrike Draesner.

Route

New York (New York) - Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) - Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) - West Chester (Pennsylvania) - Washington (District of Columbia) - Front Royal (Virginia) - Charlotte (North Carolina) - Atlanta (Georgia) - Athens (Georgia) - Orlando (Florida) - Miami (Florida) - Houston (Texas).

Route may be subject to change.

About the participants

  • Sonali Beher

    Author

    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 traveled across the United States in the fall of 2025. Throughout their journey, they shared regular updates in the form of notes, in-depth texts, and visual content documenting their experiences.

  • Iven Yorick Fenker

    Author

    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 traveled across the United States in the fall of 2025. Throughout their journey, they shared regular updates in the form of notes, in-depth texts, and visual content documenting their experiences.

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