What is love? How to find words, tell stories of love, intimacy and desire in all their shades and shadows without falling into the same old patterns of patriarchy? How do words create queer*feminist and decolonial worlds and when are words never quite enough? In what ways do love, politics, and power relate to each other on the page and in real life? What do we speak of when we speak of love? Writers and thinkers Omar Kasmani, Andrea Newerla, Phanuel Antwi, and Saskia Vogel will come together to discuss their experiences with writing and thinking about queer*feminist love.

Omar Kasmani is a cultural anthropologist, writer and self-proclaimed Berliner-by-love. He is the author of “Queer Companions” (2022) and editor of “Pakistan Desires” (2023),

Andrea Newerla is a writer, sociologist, and relationship counsellor. She is the author of “The End of the Romantic Dictate/Das Ende des Romantikdiktats” (2023), has conducted research on care, intimacy, as well as online dating, and lives and works in Berlin. 

Phanuel Antwi is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language Literatures at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Among numerous academic publications, he is the author of “On Cuddling: Loved to Death in the Racial Embrace” (2023). 

Saskia Vogel is a writer, literary translator and editor born and raised in Los Angeles, USA and now living in Berlin. She is the author of “Permission” (2019) and co-editor of “Erotic Review magazine”, an art and literary journal that explores desire.