Iryna Herasimovich
As a freelance translator and cultural mediator, Iryna Herasimovich has been travelling between the German-speaking and Belarusian cultural spheres for many years. It is no coincidence that in times of unrest she is repeatedly asked to comment on events in Belarus for German-speaking readers. In doing so, she always remains in the role of a translator, not an activist or political commentator, and as such brings a special attention to individual cases, to the ambivalent and the hidden. In times of crisis, we tend to look for hasty and definite answers that are readily provided by various ideologies. Iryna Herasimovich shows that even in times of social upheaval, it is possible to adopt an individual position and endure uncertainty. The author's personal view of the political situation does not necessarily provide ready-made solutions, but it is close to reality, which is full of "unsolved equations" for everyone, whether in Belarus or elsewhere. Iryna Herasimovich's German essays and speeches were written for various media and on various occasions. They deal with political events, such as the protests in Belarus or Russia's war against Ukraine, with everyday life in a revolution and the author's experiences in exile, but also with her readings and, time and again, her work as a translator. In this Belarusian volume, selected texts from the years 2017 to 2021 appear under one cover for the first time.
Iryna Herasimovich was born in Minsk in 1978 and has been a freelance translator since 2009. She has translated works by Lukas Bärfuss, Georg Büchner, Monika Rinck, Nora Gomringer, Mehdi Moradpour, Jonas Lüscher, Michael Köhlmeier, Franz Hohler and Franz Kafka into Belarusian. She also works as a dramaturg and curator in the field of visual arts and is a member of the German Academy for Language and Poetry. Since 2021, she has been a doctoral candidate at the Slavic Department of the University of Zurich in the SNF project " Künste & Desinformation". Photo: Antonina Slobodchikova
Halijafy was an independent Belarusian publishing house founded in 2007. On 16 April 2022, it had to close its publishing activities by decision of the Belarusian Ministry of Information. Halijafy Publishing House was able to publish books by contemporary Belarusian authors for 15 years. The publishing house's authors include writers such as Volha Hapeyeva, Alhierd Baharevich, Julia Cimafeeva and Valiantsin Akudovich (Akudovich), who are now shaping the Belarusian discourse in German-speaking countries with translations of their books. Halijafy's publications have been honoured several times with non-governmental literary awards in Belarus, and two books have been named "Book of the Year".
Matthes & Seitz Berlin founded in Berlin in 2004. The publishing house continues the tradition that began in 1977 with the founding of Matthes & Seitz in Munich by Axel Matthes and Claus Seitz. The "Niemandsland zwischen Wissenschaft und Kunst "Der Pfahl"), which characterised the publishing house in its Munich period, has now also opened up to the most important contemporary authors from Germany, France, Russia and China, among others. The publishing house is characterised by new translations of classics as well as an extensive non-fiction programme in the humanities with a focus on philosophy, nature, political theory, anthropology and cultural studies.
The translation was supported by the Slavic Department of the University of Zurich.
The translation is being authorised.
Notizen einer Schmarotzerin (Ostpol, 2017) Sehen Sie hin! (FAZ, August 2020) Die Kraft des Unwissens (in “Belarus! Das weibliche Gedicht der Revolution”; edition.fotoTAPETA, autumn 2020) Minsk. 12.11.2020 (LCB Diplomatique, November 2020) Vom weißen Fleck und Schwarzen Loch und vielen Schattierungen dazwischen (Point of No Return, LCB, January 2021) Trägt es zur Sichtbarkeit von Belarus bei, wenn es sich aus einem weissen in einen weiss-rot-weissen Fleck verwandelt? (WOZ, August 2021) Erfahrungen vs. Ideologien (A*dS-Bulletin, July 2022) Im Dazwischen (Republik, March 2022) Verkapselte Realitäten (Magazin der Münchner Kammerspiele, June 2022) Gedanken über den Krieg: Rede bei der Deutschen Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (May, 2022) Von Ängsten und Berührungen (TOLEDO-Talks, December 2020) Vorstellungsrede an der Deutschen Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (November 2021)