Reading and discussion: ‘Issa’ by Mirrianne Mahn

Issa doesn't really want to go on this trip. Pregnant, she is on a plane to Douala, driven by her mother, who fears for the life of her daughter, who is about to give birth. In Cameroon, the land of her childhood, under the watchful eyes of her grandmothers, she will follow the healing path of rituals and make contact with her ancestors. For Issa, the difficult visit becomes a confrontation with her own family history and her identity between Germany and Cameroon.

Picture: © Katharina Dubno

Mirrianne Mahn was born in Cameroon and lives in Frankfurt am Main, where she works as an activist, theatre maker, city councillor and diversity and anti-discrimination consultant. In her debut novel (Rowohlt, 2024), she interweaves the destinies of women from five generations, linked by colonial exploitation and trauma, but also by female self-empowerment and an unconditional will to live.

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT), Weertje Willms (German Seminar, University of Freiburg) and students will be in conversation with the author.
An event of the Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) and the German Seminar of the University of Freiburg in cooperation with Dr. Richard Tsogang Fossi (University of Dschang/Cameroon), the Literaturhaus Freiburg and the bookshop and café jos fritz, supported by the City of Freiburg and the Burckhardt Foundation of the University of Freiburg.

Date: 14.05.2025, 19:30
Venue: jos fritz-Café, Wilhelmstr. 15, 79098 Freiburg
Admission: 11/7 euros (students and school children free). Tickets are available in advance at the jos fritz bookshop (from 23 April 2025) and at the door. Pupils and students who would like a free ticket must pick one up in advance at the bookshop (the number of free tickets is limited).

The event language will be german.