Lesung Adikou - Raphaëlle Red

In the organizer's words:

Meeting and reading with Raphaëlle Red, author of "Adikou", which was published in fall 2024. In her book, the Franco-German author explores a young woman's search for identity against the backdrop of feminist activism. The event will be moderated by Dominique Haensell, author and translator.

More about the novel "Adikou":
Adikou's origins are unclear, the traces of her family history are blurred. She doesn't even know how to pronounce her name correctly. One oppressively hot summer, she can no longer stand living in Paris. Adikou flies to Lomé, Togo - the place of origin of her father, whom she does not know. She doesn't know what she's looking for, it's the others who ask questions, check passports, in the snack bars of Lomé, in accommodation, everywhere. Who is your father, are you white or black or both? What is it like to travel alone as a woman, do you speak Ewe, are you a journalist, what are you looking for here?

From Togo, Adikou travels along the African coast to the USA. She creates a legacy of snakeskin, skylines and stuffy nights, exploring history and stories, past and present. Until she hears the words of her missing father.

A road novel about the ghosts of the past, about anger and guilt and about what it means to be yourself.

Raphaëlle Red was born in France and grew up in Germany. She first studied social sciences, then literature, and graduated in 2020 with a Master's degree in Literary Writing from the University of Paris VIII. She is currently researching contemporary literature of the African diaspora at the Free University of Berlin. Her texts have been published in French(Jef Klak, L'Humanité), English(gal-dem, The Funambulist) and German(Bella Triste, the anthologies Resonanzen and Glückwunsch). "Adikou" is her first novel.

Dominique Haensell is an author, translator and reader from Berlin. She holds a PhD in contemporary Afro-diasporic literature and her monograph "Making Black History - Diasporic Fiction in the Moment of Afropolitanism" (De Gruyter) was published in 2021. Her work as co-editor of Missy Magazine is currently on hold while she works on an autofictional book about her own family's connections to German and British colonial history(The White Rasta, Luchterhand).

Book signing and drinks afterwards!

In cooperation with the Frankreichzentrum of the Freie Universität Berlin.

Admission : 6 € / free for students on presentation of proof

Registration by clicking on "Registration" at the bottom of the page.

Raphaëlle Red, was also nominated for the Prix Première with "Adikou". Vote for the Prix Première here until February 15, 2025 !

Price information:

Free of charge for students on presentation of proof. Payment on site on the day of the event.