Michel Abdollahi in Gelsenkirchen: Reading and Discussion about It is Our Country
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Michel Abdollahi and Fatih Çevikkollu talk about Germany, exclusion and solidarity
When literature does not sugarcoat social reality but holds up a mirror to it, a particularly urgent evening is created. On November 11, 2026, Michel Abdollahi presents his new book It is Our Country at the Hans-Sachs-Haus in Gelsenkirchen and discusses it with Cologne cabaret artist Fatih Çevikkollu.
A book about the abysses of the present
More than ten years after his highly regarded documentation In the Nazi Village and six years after the SPIEGEL bestseller Germany is creating me, Abdollahi once again focuses on the political and social tensions of contemporary Germany. His new non-fiction book combines personal perspective, journalistic observation, and pointed social analysis.
At the core are questions that shape the cultural discourse: Why is right-wing ideology gaining public acceptance? How does coexistence change when people with a migration background are increasingly seen as outsiders? And what paths lead to an open, diverse society without racism and populism?
Literature as interference
Michel Abdollahi is one of the defining voices of the German-language poetry slam scene. As an author, journalist, moderator, compere, and artist, he combines linguistic art with a political stance. For his journalistic work and the documentation In the Nazi Village, he received the German Television Award; in 2017, he was awarded the Gustaf Gründgens Prize.
His style is characterized by clarity, wit, and direct address. Abdollahi writes not from a safe distance but from a biographically and socially engaged position. This gives the reading a special literary quality: language becomes the instrument of classification, provocation, and democratic opposition.
Conversation with Fatih Çevikkollu
In conversation with Fatih Çevikkollu, political analysis meets cabaret-style sharpness. Çevikkollu is known for a profound, interculturally influenced social criticism that combines thinking and laughter. Together, they examine how prejudices become normalized, why the bourgeois center appears divided, and what responsibility language bears in public space.
The format promises no distant book presentation, but a lively encounter with the author featuring reading, conversation, and political reflection. The reading atmosphere in the Hans-Sachs-Haus opens up space for concentrated listening, pointed thoughts, and an open view of the present.
An evening for an open society
It is Our Country is conceived as a shocking, enlightening, and encouraging assessment. Abdollahi clearly identifies grievances and connects the diagnosis of social conflicts with the question of change. The evening in Gelsenkirchen is aimed at all those who want to experience literature as part of democratic debates and do not want political topics to fade into slogans.
Visitors can expect a literary experience between non-fiction, conversation, and stage presence: engaged, linguistically precise, and close to the conflicts of our time. Those who want to experience Abdollahi's new perspectives live and reflect with Fatih Çevikkollu on social cohesion will find an important evening of the Attack Heart Matter series at the Hans-Sachs-Haus.
Official channels of Michel Abdollahi:
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