Koeppen’s pigeons in the grass Racism and language – culture

The debate about Wolfgang Koeppen’s famous novel “Pigeons in the Grass” could bring a little more clarity about the relationship between literature and expectations of reception into the arena of debate than has been the case so far from the rather depressing discussions about corridor narrowing. This debate could become a lesson in the misunderstandings that have for years determined the contradiction between the notorious ambiguity of literary texts and their useful use as school reading material. But it could also be an invitation to see the difficulties and contradictions of a reading as an opportunity to talk about literature even more precisely, even more complexly and possibly more controversially.