feeLit 2026: Miriam Davoudvandi – Das können wir uns nicht leisten

In the organizer's words:

From July 2 to 5, feeLit - International Literature Festival Heidelberg and its authors will be making a guest appearance at halle02 for the second time. Our festival venue is all about books and writing. This year, feeLit presents national and international literary stars and brings authors together with their audience.

feeLit 2026: Miriam Davoudvandi - We can't afford that

Moderation: Philipp Neumeyr
Language: German

Music journalist and author Miriam Davoudvandi talks at feeLit. about her new book "Das können wir uns nicht leisten" and uses her own childhood as a starting point to explain what poverty means in Germany - and why it has an impact far beyond financial issues:

"This book is for everyone who ran around in Victory shoes instead of Nikes. For everyone who was ashamed to invite friends home. For everyone whose only leisure activities were soccer or watching TV because there was no money for anything else. For everyone who heard more than once: We can't afford that."

She avoided boys for a long time, because Miriam Davoudvandi knew that every guy would have to see the inside of her apartment at some point: in the shabby social housing in the middle of detached houses, the cluttered rooms, the worn-out bathroom. The shame of not being able to offer anything and not belonging has shaped Miriam Davoudvandi at least since she started school - and it is still a part of her today.

She has since risen socially and earns more than her parents ever did.

Her conclusion: money actually makes you very happy. But at what price? And what traces have her experiences left behind? Miriam Davoudvandi gives an honest and touching account of what it means to be poor in Germany. She not only looks at the obvious scenes of poverty, but also at aspects such as dating, friendships, starting a family and the psyche, the importance of the television and life as the first student in the family. And shows why the poor are even disadvantaged when it comes to dying.

Miriam Davoudvandi, born in Bucharest in 1992, is a freelance journalist, presenter and author and host of the WDR podcast "Danke, gut", in which she talks to people in the public eye about mental health. She began her journalistic career writing about rap. She was later editor-in-chief of the hip-hop magazine. Today, her articles on pop culture, politics and the psyche appear in Spiegel and Die Zeit, among others. Miriam Davoudvandi lives in Berlin.

"A personal story that contains so much love. This book heals wounds." Tahsim Durgun

Good to know

• Only cashless payment (EC card, credit card, contactless) is possible at our venue: halle02.de/cashless
• Seated event, free choice of seats
• Local organizer: FeeLit - International Literature Festival Heidelberg
• Secure resale of tickets only via our partner TicketSwap: halle02.de/ticketswap