Name: Exophony: Writing Outside the Mother Tongue
Start: 2026-04-30T18:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-04-30T19:45:00-04:00
Location: Goethe-Institut New York

Exophony: Writing Outside the Mother Tongue

Explore the creative possibilities and cultural politics of writing outside one’s native language.
About this Event

Exophony: Writing Outside the Mother Tongue

All PEN World Voices Festival tickets are non-refundable. Please confirm the time and location of your event before finalizing your purchase.

Language shapes our reality, from how we express ourselves to how the world expresses itself to us. What happens, though, when one chooses to write outside of their native language?

This discussion explores the creative possibilities of writing in another language and examines the colonial legacies of languages. It convenes Patrice Nganang, whose memoir Scale Boy reflects on his relationship to the Cameroonian indigenous language Medumba, his mother tongue, and his writing in English, German, and French; and Swedish-Tunisian author Jonas Hassen Khemiri, whose recent novel The Sisters marks his first book written in English rather than his native Swedish.

Moderated by translator and poet Nancy Naomi Carlson (Gestuary by Sylvie Kandé), this conversation will explore the cross-cultural and intra-language possibilities of exophonic writing and the historical legacies that shape which languages are heard.

The 2026 PEN World Voices Festival is a celebration of world literature and free expression. The 2026 edition will be the 21st World Voices Festival. Over four days, over 140 writers from over 40 countries will be featured in engaging talks, panels, readings, and activations in New York City and greater Los Angeles.

Visit for more information about the entire festival, as well as PEN America.

ACCESSIBILITY:

The Goethe Institut is ADA compliant.

ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our Box Office team at [email protected] by April 15th to request.

Please ask a Box Office Attendant or festival representative upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.

For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact [email protected]