Lesung und Diskussion mit Max Lobe

“A Funky Makossa for Freedom” 

How do colonial history, migration, and family memories shape the present? What role do identity, queerness, and social belonging play in a globalized world? Cameroonian-Swiss authorMax Lobeexplores these questions in his latest novel, “A Funky Makossa for Freedom.”

During a moderated reading, Max Lobe will present his latest work and then discuss the themes of this autofictional novel with the audience. The story centers on Benjamin, a ballet dancer who, in his Geneva apartment, recalls his childhood in Cameroon.

Through his father’s stories, personal and political narratives unfold, exploring resistance, independence, cultural identity, and self-realization. With great linguistic power, Lobe combines humor, music, and poetry with a critical examination of colonial and postcolonial conditions.

Silvia Abiyeme de Bertoliniwill moderate the reading and discussion,Azizè Flittnerwill translate into German, andFatim Afra Engstfeldwill read from the autofictional novel.

The event invites attendees to reflect on the significance of memory, migration, and social participation, and to learn about the perspectives of African, diasporic, and queer voices in current debates. The discussion that follows will provide an opportunity to engage with the author. There will also be a chance to purchase the book and have it signed.

Max Lobe

Max Lobe (he/him) was born in Duala in 1986. He lives in Geneva as a novelist, poet, and cultural activist and is the author of seven novels. Themes that run through his work include migration, postcolonialism, and queerness. His novels published in German to date include *Vertraulichkeiten* (akono Verlag, 2022, nominated for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize) and *Drei Weise aus dem Bantuland* (Austernbank Verlag, 2019, Best Independent Books of Bavaria).

Silvia Abiyeme de Bertolini

Silvia Abiyeme de Bertolini (she/her) is a scholar of language and media culture, a filmmaker, and a community organizer. Since 2024, she has been a master’s student in Media Culture Analysis at HHU Düsseldorf.She is particularly interested in Black (queer) stories, cultures of memory, and the question of how lived realities can be made visible and passed down across generations. These perspectives shape both her academic work and her filmmaking practice, as well as her involvement in Black community contexts. Since 2024, she has been active with Black & Queer NRW as well as in other initiatives promoting networking, visibility, and exchange within Black (and queer) communities.

Azizè Flittner

Azizè Flittner (she/her) completed her acting training in Ulm and spent her first professional engagement at the Theater Konstanz before moving to Cologne in 2006. Since then, she has performed at the Theater im Bauturm, the studiobühne köln, and with various ensembles, as well as developing her own productions. She has also been engaged at the Staatstheater Braunschweig, the Grillo Theater Essen, and the Theater Paderborn. She also enjoys taking on film and television roles when the opportunity arises, most recently playing “Claudia” in the ZDF series “Hungry.” Her novel “On the First Truly Hot Day of the Year” was published in 2022.

Fatim Afra Engstfeld

Fatim Afra Engstfeld (she/her) is currently studying African Studies and Social Anthropology at the University of Cologne. She loves to read—she’d love to read entire libraries at once. But she enjoys bringing her areas of focus—racism and postcolonialism—to the streets and lecture halls, discussing them in plenary sessions, or writing about them in articles. After completing internships at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne, a television station in Dakar, and Missy Magazine in Berlin, she will now be reading aloud from Max Lobe’s book *Ein Funky-Makossa für die Freiheit* for our event.

The event is organized bycol.lit.ivein cooperation withPro Helvetia,the Swiss Arts Council; theHirschfeld Eddy Foundation; theRosa Luxemburg Foundation NRW;Black&Queer NRW; theBuchsalon Ehrenfeld; andakono Verlag.