“‘The James Knopf File’ is a poetic negotiation of Afro-German cultural identity. Whereas in the 1980s black Germans were still considered exotic and foreigners in their own country, in the new millennium they are Germans with a footnote of migration background. In a country that has long seen itself as homogeneously white and Christian, ‘deviant’ identities must be constantly renegotiated in radical ways. The James Knopf File is negotiation and reckoning at the same time. The verses sift through the German landscape with poetic skill and the marginal gaze of an ‘other’ German, always on the trail of the excesses of German racist everyday reality and colonial continuity. Beyond multicultural romanticism, Philipp Khabo Köpsell unmasks the German culture of dominance while creating a protective space for everything interpersonal.” (Announcement of the publisher)
Philipp Khabo Köpsell 2010: The James Knopf File. Afro-German Word and Dispute Art. Münster: Unrast
If you don’t have a bookstore worth supporting near you, you can also buy the book from the alternative non-profit online bookstore links-lesen.de, which supports political projects with the profits. The link to the book can be found here.