Jessica Mawuena Lawson in Sulzbach-Rosenberg: Reading from Kekeli
Date and Time
Location
Price
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
Jessica Mawuena Lawson reads from her debut novel Kekeli
When familiar certainties begin to waver, literature starts to unfold its unique power. During the reading at the Volkert bookstore, Jessica Mawuena Lawson presents her debut novel Kekeli – a sensitive coming-of-age story about belonging, family, identity, and Black life in Germany.
A journey that opens questions
Kekeli lives in a small town in southern Germany. The fact that her mother is white and her father is Black initially seems irrelevant. Only the visit from her cousin Afi from Togo brings questions to the surface that Kekeli has long suppressed. Together with Afi, her classmate Kwame, and his brother Kofi, she embarks on a road trip across Germany.
The journey extends far beyond geographical borders. It becomes a search for origin, memory, and personal freedom. While the teenagers work on a documentary about the lives of Black people in Germany for the Pamoja Society, Kekeli encounters political, historical, and familial dimensions of her own biography.
Coming-of-age between road trip and family history
Lawson combines the dynamics of a road trip with the inner movement of a classic coming-of-age novel. Afrobeats, poetry, new friendships, and a tender love story meet the unsettling discovery of a family secret. From this connection emerges a literary resonance space where personal development and social discourse intertwine closely.
The clear, distinctive language of the author gives Kekeli's perspective closeness and precision. The novel does not preach but allows its themes to emerge from characters, encounters, and contradictions. Questions about home, visibility, and belonging thus acquire an immediately tangible dimension.
An important voice of contemporary literature
Jessica Mawuena Lawson was born in 1997, lives in southern Germany, works in a shelter for refugees, and studies literature and cultural theory. After an internship at Arena Verlag, she also works as a freelance sensitivity reader and editor. Kekeli is her debut novel, in which she also processes experiences from a German-Togolese background in literary form.
Literary critics commend the novel as a smart and accessible connection of road trip, coming-of-age, and own-voice narrative. The focus is not only on racism and discrimination but also on the quiet, personal processes through which a young woman redefines her place in the world.
Conclusion: Literature as encounter
The reading at the Volkert bookstore promises an intense author encounter with a young literary voice whose work combines social relevance and narrative warmth. Visitors will experience the linguistic artistry of Jessica Mawuena Lawson, gain insights into the creation of her debut novel, and encounter a story that resonates long after. Anyone wishing to experience literature as a lively, inspiring experience should not miss this evening.
Official channels of Jessica Mawuena Lawson:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- Website: no official profile found
- Publisher: no official profile found
