Leipzig is Lit

2018-03-18

Part of the Movement

In its eigth year of existence, Teil der Bewegung [Part of the Movement] has become an institution in the literary landscape of readings at Leipzig's book fair. It's organized by some of Germany's more well-known publishers of poetry (Kookbooks, Schöffling & Co., Poetenladen) and features some …

2018-03-17

Invisible: Interpreting on Panels

Many readers may be unfamiliar with the fundamental difference between translating and interpreting. If it's old news for you, feel free to skip to the next paragraph. While translation usually refers to the written transfer of words and content from one language to another, interpreting is…

2018-03-16

And the Winners Are...

It's no surprise that Esther Kinsky was among the favorites to win the prize for literature at the Leipzig Book Fair. But you may not have know that there were two more winners presented at the awards ceremony on Thursday. Karl Schlögel won in the category non-fiction/essay for Das sowjetische …

2018-03-15

Opening Ceremonies

On Wednesday evening I attended the opening ceremonies of this year's Leipzig book fair. The official title of the event was "CELEBRATION to mark the Opening of the Leipzig Book Fair and Award Ceremony of the LEIPZIG BOOK AWARD for European Understanding" - and correspondingly, the event…

2018-03-14

Finding Shelter - Grove by Esther Kinsky

Were it not for the newly released English translation of Am Fluß, published as River (translated by Iain Galbraith), most people in the English-speaking world might never have previously been aware of Esther Kinsky. She initially made a name for herself translating from Polish, Russian, and …

2018-03-13

Isabel Cole's Trailblazing Green Frontier

I should be honest up front: I'm biased when it comes to Isabel Fargo Cole, who was one of the first real, live translators I got to know personally. Along with Katy Derbyshire, she was one of my earliest translation role models. I knew she had translated Meyrink's Golem and Wolfgang Hilbig, with…

2018-03-12

High Water Mark: Anja Kampmann's Deep Water's Rising

It's been said that poets write the best novels. Anja Kampmann, who studied at the German Institute for Literature in Leipzig and still lives in Leipzig, received numerous awards before publishing her highly regarded debut collection of poetry in 2016. So it’s not surprising that one of the most p…

2018-03-11

Everyone Loves the (Leipzig Book) Fair

One of the cultural highlights of the year in Leipzig is the book fair. Every March, Germany’s second-largest book fair takes over the city for four days. In contrast to the big publishing, deal-oriented trade fairs in Frankfurt and London (in October and April, respectively), since German r…