Two young writers from Germany, as part of a literary exchange called On the Road, will share their insights on writing, culture, and the art of storytelling at a free public reading (in English) at the History Center of San Luis Obispo County on Saturday, March 7, 2026. Beginning at 3 PM, the reading will be followed by a reception and continued discussion celebrating the continuous student exchange since 1948 between San Luis Obispo High School and Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Stuttgart, Germany.

On the Road is a project by the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with the German Literature Institute Leipzig and under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Ulrike Draesner. On the Road is part of the initiative Among Friends, a nationwide campaign to celebrate and strengthen transatlantic friendship. Goethe-Institut thanks Amy Kardel for co-organizing this event in San Luis Obispo with the support of the History Center of San Luis Obispo County, German School Committee, and the Rotary Youth Exchange District 5240.

“What makes this tour stop on their month-long journey across America so meaningful is that dialogue isn’t staying in the big cities—it’s coming to our rural county where the conversation can be personal,” says Kardel, a Rotary Youth Exchange volunteer and board member of the Washington DC-based Friends of the Goethe-Institut.

Award winning emerging writers, Louise Kenn and Mücahit Türk, both study in Leipzig. Kenn works as a freelance author, writes essays, prose, and poetry, approaching the latter in constant dialogue with the visual arts. Türk writes prose, poetry, and plays. In 2024, he participated in a literary exchange with Columbia University, the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, and Bard College.