A sigh, two quenched eggs, the bubbling of boiling water: this is how Sharon Dodua Otoo‘s text begins, for which she was awarded the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize at the 2016 “Days of German-Language Literature” in Klagenfurt.
“He was a staunch Protestant. However, if someone had called him a “cis man,” he would certainly have narrowed his eyes in irritation. And if someone had called him “white,” he would have either taken this as a synonym for “German” or wondered whether this was to be understood as an insult. Or both.
It’s a question of the state of the day.”
You can read the entire text here, as well as a video about the author herself, the reading, and the jury discussion.