29.8.2026, 19 Uhr: »blues in schwarz weiss« – ein Abend für die Lyrikerin May Ayim (1960–1996) mit Jeannette Oholi, Meryem Choukri & Edition Zweifel

We dedicate this evening to the Afro-German poet and activist May Ayim, who was born in Hamburg in 1960 and deceased in Berlin in August 1996. She was a co-founder of the Afro-German women’s movement and co-edited the anthology »Farbe bekennen. Afro-deutsche Frauen auf den Spuren ihrer Geschichte« (1986). On the 30th anniversary of her death, we want to commemorate and celebrate this outstanding and dedicated writer and her work, which remains relevant to this day.
 
The evening will open with a laudatory speech by Jeannette Oholi and the screening of a recording of a performance by May Ayim: In 1995, she performed six poems from her first poetry collection, »blues in schwarz weiss«, at the Römer in Frankfurt. Afterward, Jeannette Oholi and Meryem Choukri will discuss Ayim’s poetry and life—as well as the spaces and resonances of Black German literature today. Because May Ayim’s voice remains unmistakable to this day. To accompany the event, a poster featuring the laudatory speech and poems by May Ayim, designed by Edition Zweifel, will be released.
 
 

Jeannette Oholi

Jeannette Oholi is a scholar of literature and cultural studies. Her research focuses on marginalized authors and, in particular, on Black German literature. Last year, the anthology she edited, »Schwarze deutsche Literatur. Ästhetische und aktivistische Interventionen von den 1980er Jahre bis heute«, was published by transcript.

Meryem Choukri

Meryem Choukri works as a curator for diversity at the Altonaer Museum in Hamburg. She earned her Ph.D. with a dissertation on feminist archives of color and is a member of bildungs-Lab. Her work combines memory studies, academic research, and political education, focusing on racism, feminism, intersectionality, cultures of memory, and colonialism. Together with Thu Hoài Tran and Miriam Yosef, she is a co-founder of the Komplizinnen alliance. Together with Fallon T. Cabral, she edited the anthology »Biting Back: Food, Diaspora, Resistance« (Unrast).

Edition Zweifel
zweifel.jetzt/edition-zweifel

29.8.2026, 7 PM: An Evening Dedicated to the Poet May Ayim (1960–1996) with Jeannette Oholi, Meryem Choukri & Edition Zweifel

 
Entrance: donation
Please reserve via: reservation@m-bassy.org

The evening is made possible with support from M.Bassy e.V. We would like to thank the Literature Department of the Hamburg Authority for Culture and Media for its financial support of the event. And we would like to thank Dagmar Schultz and the FU Archive for kindly granting permission to use the photos from May Ayim’s estate. The book table is managed by the bookstore at the Literaturhaus.