Reading: LE CHANT DU POULET SOUS VIDE / THE BALLADE OF THE VACUUM-PACKED CHICKEN with Lucie Rico
Reading and discussion with the author (French/German), moderation and translation: Sophia Mehrbrey Lucie Rico (*1988) is the first author to come to Heidelberg for a residency program initiated by Occitanie Livre et Culture, the Montpellier-Haus and the City of Heidelberg.
She will conclude the program by talking about her debut novel The Ballad of the Vacuum-Packed Chicken , which was awarded the Prix du Roman d’Écologie.
In it, Rico deals with the relationship between humans and their animal environment in an ironic and bizarre way.
The story is told from the perspective of Hannah, a young woman who returns to her mother’s chicken farm after her death – temporarily, she thinks.
But country life takes hold of her: she slaughters and vacuum packs each chicken with its own biography, which is included in the packaging.
This gesture of appreciation gives rise to a marketing project that takes on crazy proportions.