Workshop Leaders

Workshop Leader German-Czech

Radovan Charvát

After his studies at Technical University in Prague (1972) where he was active as a mathematician at the data processing center in Prague (until 1984), he became a freelance translator and journalist. In 1987 he spent one year in Africa. From 1989 to 1990 he studied German, English and American Studies at the J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt (literary theory, German literature of  the 19^th century, slang in American English). Since 1989 he is a freelance translator from German and English into Czech. He is divorced and has one child named Jan (*1985)

He translates screenplays into German, conducts simultaneous translations of films on TV and movies, and newspaper articles (Literární noviny, Lidové noviny).

Cooperation with: Austrian Cultural Forum Prague, ARD Studio Prague, Goethe Institute Prague (readings), Suhrkamp Publishers Frankfurt, Hanser Publications Munich, Aufbau Publishers Berlin and Volvox Globator, Prostor, Paseka, Opus and Argo (all in Prague).

Workshop Leader Czech-German

Kristina Kallert
Foto © 2013. All rights reserved worldwide for FDDO.

Born in 1962 in Weissenburg, after she studied Eastern Slavic Studies and German Studies in Regensburg and St. Petersburg she went to the Masaryk University in Brno as a DAAD lector. There she successfully completed her state examination in 1998 in the field of Czech language and literature.

At the beginning of her translation activities are her translation of Ivan Cankar’s Nina (1906/1999) a translation from Slovenian and already from Czech Bartoloměj Daniel’s Geschichte der Roma in Böhmen, Mähren und der Slowakei [The History of Roma in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia] (1994/1998), the life work of the first Roma author of the Czech Republic. Kristina Kallert concentrates on works of fiction but increasingly devotes herself to translating humanities publications – in both areas older as well as contemporary authors are represented. The latest published translations are J.M. Langer: Die neun Tore [The Nine Goals] (1937/2012), M. Ryšavý: Dimitrij der Heiler [Dmitry, the Healer] (2010/2012),  K. Čapková, M.Frankl: Unsichere Zuflucht. Die Tschechoslowakei und ihre Flüchtlinge aus NS-Deutschland und Österreich 1933-1938 [Uncertain Asylum: The Czech Republic and its Refugees from Nazi Germany and Austria from 1939 to 1938] (2010/2012).

Kristina Kallert has collaborated on the Czech library (B. Němcová, J. Zeyer, J. Karásek ze Lvovic, J. Jungmann, V. Kramář), she translates for the Dresden Poetry Prize and will contribute to the Vladimir Holan edition provided by U. Heftrich.

In Leipzig, Tübingen and Znojmo she has lead translator workshops numerous times. In 2004 she received the Leipzig Fähre Prize for literary translation, she was an awardee of a stipend at the Literary Colloquium in Berlin (2004) and the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna (Paul Celan Fellowship, 2007); in winter of 2010 she was a translator in residence in Tübingen. She is a part-time lector for Czech at the Institute for Slavic Studies of the University of Regensburg since 2005.

Workshop Leader German-Polish

Sława Lisiecka

Sława Lisiecka (born 1947) completed her degree in German Language and Literature in 1970 in Lodz. For several years she was a lecturer and docent at the university in Lodz. Since 1978 she is a freelance translator of German-language literature. Until now she has translated approximately 90 books into Polish, amongst others from P. Härtling, T. Bernhard, G. de Bruyn, S. Heym, S. Lenz, S. Nadolny, Ch. Ransmayr, A. Muschg, H. Hesse, J. Zeh, B. Vanderbeke, G.-A. Goldschmidt, K.-M. Gauß, G. Benn, U. Johnson, P. Henisch, G. Jonke. She also translates plays (amongst others by Günter Grass, Elfriede Jelinek, Georg Tabori, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Moritz Rinke, Juli Zeh) and poetry (amongs others by Ingeborg Bachmann, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Günter Grass, Christine Koschel, Tina Stroheker, Gottfried Benn, Thomas Bernhard).

In addition she has published in many Polish literary journals fragments of works by Peter Handke, Elias Canetti, Ödön von Horváth, Ludwig Harig, Franz Hessel, Franzobel and others. For many years now she has translated philosophical, psychological, literature critical and sociological works (amongst others by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Victor Chu, Martin Heidegger, Hans Mayer) and also numerous translations in art catalogues.

She has been awarded a stipend by the German Literature Fund, the Robert Bosch Foundation, Perewest Foundation, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the European Translator Centre and the Austrian Assosiation for Literature. In 1985 she received the translator price from the Robert Bosch Foundation and the German Poland Institute, in 2007 the Austrian National Prize for literary translators of Austrian literature – Translatio, in 2009 the prize of the Polish monthly Literatura na świecie [Literature in the World] for the translation of the novel Mutmaßungen über Jakob [Speculations about Jakob] by Uwe Johnson. On May 8 in 2012 she was awared the prize of the NRW Foundation at the European Translator Centre in Straelen/Germany for her lifetime achievement with a special consideration of her translation of Thomas Bernhard’s works. Currently she works on the translation of: Kunst und Künstler [Art and Artist] by Otto Rank and Menschliches, Allzumenschliches [Human, All Too Human] by Friedrich Nietzsche.

She is married to Zdzisław Jaskuła with whom she translated amongst others Also sprach Zarathustra [Thus Spoke Zarathustra] by Friedrich Nietzsche, a large selection of poems by Ingeborg Bachmann entitled Erklär mir, Liebe [Explain to Me, Love] and the selection of poems Nie einsamer und andere Gedichte [Never More Lonely and Other Poems] by Gottfried Benn. Currently both have been working on the translation of about 80 selected poems by Thomas Bernhard.

In 2007 she received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the President of Poland for her outstanding achievements for the independence of Poland (1975-1989), for cultural and oppositional activities in support of democratic transformations and for her current professional activities.

In 2011 she was awarded the prize of the city of Lodz for her achievements.

Workshop Leader Polish-German

Dr. Olaf Kühl

is translator, author and a political consultant. He lives in Berlin.

Born in 1955 in Wilhelmshaven, he studied Slavic Languages and Literature at Free University in Berlin. In 1995 he earned his doctorate degree with a thesis on the prose of Witold Gombrowicz. In 2005 he received the Karl Dedecius Prize for his lifetime achievements, in the same year he received the German prize for youth literature for his translation of Dorota Masłowska’s Snow White and Russian Red. With a Border Crosser research grant from the Robert Bosch Foundation he conducted research in 2008 in Siberia and wrote the novel Tote Tiere [Dead Animals] (Rowohlt Berlin, 2011). In winter semester 2011/2012 he was appointed August Wilhelm von Schlegel Visiting Professor for Poetics of Translation at Free University of Berlin.

Workshop Leader German-Croatian

Andy Jelčić

He studied German and English Studies as well as the two-year post-diploma studies program on literary theory at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Zagreb. Since 1988 he works as a freelance translator, author and journalist and has completed numerous translations of non-fiction and fiction as well as contributions to literary journals and daily newspapers. For his translation of Erich Auerbach’s Mimesis he received the prize from the Croatian Literary Translators Association for the best specialist translation. Also for his translation Robert Musil’s main piece of work Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften [The Man Without Qualities] he received an award, namely the national prize for the best translation.

Andy Jelčić works in a diversity of theaters, architecture associations and museums, amongst others the Museum for Contemporary Art in Zagreb, the Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art in Rijeka, the Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, the Camera Austria, etc. In addition, he is a member of numerous professional associations, amongst others the Croatian Literary Translators Association, the Austrian Translators Association and the Commission oft he Cultural Ministry of the Republic of Croatia for awarding the national annual prize and the lifetime achievement of translators.

Furthermore, Andy Jelčić is the Croatian representative in CEATL, vice president of the CEATL, leader of the Group Copyright and Digital Rights as well as editorial member of the PETRA project in Brussels.

Workshop Leader Croatian-German

Matthias Jacob

He is docent for literature, translator and journalist, and studied East and South Slavic Philology, Modern German Literature and Art History in Tübingen and Moscow. In the 1980s he conducted numerous study visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1999 until 2004 he was research assistant at the chair for Slavic Philology (literary sciences) at the Department for Slavic Studies of the University of Tübingen. During this time he was also course instructor in adult education (Russian literature). Today, he lives with his wife and daughter in Herrenberg, located between Stuttgart and Tübingen. He conducts introductory literary seminars as assistant lecturer primarily in the area of South-Slavic literatures, writes reviews (for the journal Buchmarkt) and translates fiction and scientific texts from Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian as well as Russian. Since 2005 Matthias Jacob is travel guide for „Biblical Tours / Stuttgart“ of art and cultural travel to Istria, Dalmatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Publications: Scientific and journalistic articles on the literature of Russia and South Slavic countries. Literary translations (amongst others): poetic volumes by Andrijana Škunca, Luko Paljetak, Nikica Petrak and Snežana Minić; collaboration on the anthology „admission ticket – Ulaznica. Serbia: A Panorama of Poetry oft he 21st Century“ (2011) and the poetry volume Burn, Baby, Burn by Zvonko Karanović (2013).

Workshop Leader Croatian-German

Dr. Alida Bremer
Foto © Oliver Favre

She was born in 1959 in Split, Croatia, and completed her degree in Comparative Literature Studies, Romance, Slavic and German Studies in Belgrade, Rome, Saarbrücken and Münster. Her PhD she completed in the area of comparative literature studies. For many years she worked as a research assistant and lector at the universities of Münster and Giessen. She was the artistic program director of the book fair in Pula, Istria, the acting manager of the project “Croatia as Focus Country at the Leipzig Book Fair in 2008”, is a freelancer at the S. Fischer Foundation and was awarded a Border Crosser research grant by the Robert Bosch Foundation in the year 2008-2009.

Important publications: Kriminalistische Dekonstruktion: Zur Poetik der postmodernen Kriminalromane [Criminalistic Deconstruction: The Poetics of Postmodern Detektive Stories] (Würzburg 1999);  (ed.): Jugoslawische (Sch)Erben: Probleme und Perspektiven [Yugoslavian Heirs: Problems and Perspectives] (Osnabrück 1993);  (ed.): Literarischer Reiseführer: Istrien [Literary Travel Guide: Istria] (Klagenfurt/Celovec 2008); (edited together with Silvija Hinzmann and Dagmar Schruf): Südliche Licht. 20 Liebeserklärungen an Kroatien [Southern Light: 20 Declarations of Love for Croatia] (Berlin 2008); (edited together with Hermann Wallmann): Kroatische Literatur der Gegenwart in 6 Bänden [Croatian Literature oft he Present in Six Volumes] (Daedalus Verlag 2008); (edited together with KulturKontakt Austria): Zeitgenössische Literatur aus Kroatien [Contemporary Literature from Croatia] (realized: four volumes, planned: ten volumes); (ed.): Fabula rasa. Oder: Zagreb liegt am Meer / Die kroatische Literatur der letzten 25 Jahre [Fabula Rasa: Zagreb is Located at the Sea / Croatian Literature of the Last 25 Years] Die Horen, Volume 229 (1st Quarter, 2008).

Numerous translations from Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian (poetry, novels, short stories, plays, essays amongst others from Predrag Matvejević, Bora Ćosić, Ivana Sajko, Edo Popović, Miroslav Krleža, Milko Valent, Janko Polić Kamov, Antun Šoljan, Veljko Barbieri, Roman Simić, Delimir Rešicki, Slavenka Drakulić, Jakša Fiamengo, Dragan Velikić, Marija Karaklajić, Milena Marković).

Workshop Leader German-Slovenian

Amalija Maček

From 1995 to 2001, after graduating in German Language and Literary Studies and Hispanic Studies, she worked as a freelance translator and interpreter. As a student and an alumna, she pursued further education (through various scholarships: DAAD, Schritte, Sommerakademie LCB, etc.) in Germany, Austria and in Spain. Since 2001 she has worked at the Department of Translation at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Humanities, where she mainly teaches translation from German into Slovene. She has published numerous scholarly and newspaper articles and reviews. Since 2008 she heads the master’s program in Interpreting Studies (a member of EMCI). She coordinated the EULITA and TRAFUT projects for Slovenia and is also an accredited conference interpreter, works for EU institutions, is a member of the Slovene Book Agency’s committee for the promotion of Slovene literature abroad and, first and foremost, is a literary translator from German into Slovene (Mora, Brecht, Kafka, Winkler, Pollack, Peltzer, Muschg, Kehlmann, Aichinger, etc.).

Workshop Leader Slovenian-German

Daniela Kocmut

She was born in Maribor in 1980. In 1991 she moved to Austria and grew up in Hermagor, Carinthia; she lives in Graz, works as a translator and interpreter, and teaches Slovene. She is currently an assistant at the literary journal LICHTUNGEN and teaches Slovene in the program treffpunkt sprachen at the University of Graz. She studied Translation Studies in Graz and Dublin. Since 2004 Daniela Kocmut has translated primarily literary and technical texts from various fields and languages (German, Slovene, English and Croatian). She has published numerous literary translations into German: Luzias Augen and Der Baum ohne Namen by Drago Jančar, Die verborgene Harmonie by Katarina Marinčič, Alle meine Kriege, Plötzlich wurde es dunkel by Maruša Krese, and Wasserlinge by Veno Taufer She regularly participates in literary events, especially in Graz and Maribor, and writes poetry in German and Slovene.

Workshop Leader German-Ukrainian

Dr. Maria Ivanytska

She graduated in German Language and Literary Studies in Chernivtsi. She worked as a German teacher at the University in Chernivtsi and received scholarships to study at the universities in Vienna and Düsseldorf. In 1994 she earned her PhD in German Studies and since 2000 she has been employed at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv where she is an associate professor at the Department of Translation for German. She was initiator and coordinator of the DAAD project “Studentische Selbstverwaltung im Vergleich” [Student Self-Government in Comparison] (2010, https://kops.ub.uni-konstanz.de/xmlui/handle/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-129419), coordinator of the international summer school “Ukrainian Culture” with the University of Graz (2011) as well as a member and coordinator of workshops for translators. Her research interest lies in the field of Translation Studies. From 2011 to 2014 she conducted her postdoctoral research (habilitation) on the topic of “Language Personality of the Literary Translator”. Maria Ivanytska is the author of 65 scholarly articles and two books that deal with stylistics and translations; she translates from German into Ukrainian. Since 2013 she is the coordinator of the project TransStar for the Ukraine.

Workshop Leader German-Ukrainian

Yurko Prokhasko
Foto © Markijan Prokhasko

Was born in the eastern Galician Ivano-Frankivsk and is a specialist in German Studies, translator, essayist, journalist (Krytyka, Ji, Tygodnik Powszechny, Die Zeit, Kafka, La Repubblika, Falter, Frankfurter Rundschau, Volltext, Süddeutsche Zeitung) and curator of exhibitions. He studied German Studies (1987 – 1992) and Psychology (2004 – 2009) at the University of Lviv and completed the training as group analyst in Altaussee (Austria, 1997 – 2007). Translates from German (i.a. R. Musil, J. Roth, F. Kafka, R.M. Rilke, J. Hermann), Polish (J. Wittlin, J. Iwaszkiewicz, L. Kołakowski) and Jiddish (Deborah Vogel). Corresponding member of the Saxon Academy of Arts (Dresden, since June 2007). He ist he Friedrich Gundolf prize winner for mediating German culture abroad awarded by the German Academy for Language and Poetry (Darmstadt, 2008). In 2008 he received Translatio, the Autrian national prize for literary translation. In the academic year 2011-12 he was a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin [Institute for Advanced Study] and in 2013 he was a fellow at the Landis&Gyr Foundation (Zug, Switzerland). He is a member of the editorial staff of the Kiev monthly Krytyka.

Yurko Prokhasko lives in Lviv where he works at the Ivan Franko Institute of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences as well as at the Ivan Franko University and at the Psychoanalytical Institute (2010) of which he is one of the founders.

Workshop Leader Ukrainian-German

Claudia Dathe

Claudia Dathe completed her studies in Business Administration and Translation Studies (Russian, Polish) in Leipzig, Pjatigorsk (Russia) and Krakow. From 1997 to 2004 she was a lector for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. After returning to Germany, she worked as a freelance translator for the Ukrainian, Russian and Polish languages and conducted tutorials for German and Ukrainian up-and-coming translators. Since 2009 she works at the University of Tübingen within the framework of the “Textabdrücke – Literary Translation” project and currently as the coordinator of the EU-funded project “TransStar”. Her professional and research interests focus on the linkages and asymmetries of East and Central European literary spaces. Claudia Dathe translated into German – amongst others – the following Ukrainian authors: Serhiy Zhadan, Olexandr Irvanez, Tanja Malyarchuk and Maria Matios.