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Brigitte Reimann

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    Brigitte Reimann

    The Guardian recently reviewed the East German writer's very first translation into English, half a century after her death. This prompted WSC illustrator Tim Bradford to write to the newspaper recalling the days when his flatmate in the late 80s had a brief obsession with making her known to a wider audience. I should have stuck at it, but I've never been much good at sticking at things. I'm more of a giver-upper, which is always much easier and (to me) more gratifying than being a sticker-atter.

    #2
    That is a great letter. Of course, Tim Bradford's flatmate could have had the best of both worlds by appointing himself as the pub's translator-in-residence, prefiguring his older, wilier self's stint at the Grey Horse.

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      #3
      Originally posted by imp View Post
      The Guardian recently reviewed the East German writer's very first translation into English, half a century after her death. This prompted WSC illustrator Tim Bradford to write to the newspaper recalling the days when his flatmate in the late 80s had a brief obsession with making her known to a wider audience. I should have stuck at it, but I've never been much good at sticking at things. I'm more of a giver-upper, which is always much easier and (to me) more gratifying than being a sticker-atter.

      How far did you get?

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        #4
        A few chapters, at most. I remember there were three or four words or phrases that I just couldn't translate and had them marked down for more research. Possibly colloquial/regional terms that weren't in my limited dictionary.

        Benjm has provided a wonderful retrospective vision of me sitting with paperback, typewriter and dictionary in the (now sadly closed) Lorne Arms in Queens Road as the locals played pool around me, beneath the framed pictures of the landlady hugging Barbara Windsor.

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          #5
          Where did you first encounter her work imp?

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            #6
            That’s a lovely letter and story imp

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              #7
              Originally posted by Nefertiti2 View Post
              Where did you first encounter her work imp?
              I did a course in East German socialist realist literature in my final year at university. I'd been to the DDR a few times during my year in Bielefeld, including a week-long trip in late 1985 with a group of foreign students from Bielefeld University. That shattered any lingering illusions I had that Soviet-style socialism was any good at all - in short, it was fucking grim, even though we were shown the official side. I'll never forget the glorious experience of touring a cement factory for two hours, with the noise so loud that it was impossible to hear a single word that our guide was saying. I rank it alongside having to sit through Les Miserables as the worst cultural experience of my life. But it was a really memorable, life-changing week in many ways - I still have a diary of it somewhere. Anyway, I retained an interest in the DDR, especially that side of it that was able to express itself through music, film and literature.

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                #8
                Originally posted by Nefertiti2 View Post
                Where did you first encounter her work imp?
                I thought you were asking about Barbara Windsor for a second there, Nef.

                And seconded what slackster said. A great letter and story. It must feel good to be immortalised in the Guardian letters page, imp. I hope you managed to get a copy.

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                  #9
                  Thanks, Jon. Yes, a copy is being kept for me by my former flat-mate.

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                    #10
                    Good interview with the ttanslator from Exberliner

                    https://www.exberliner.com/books/luc...eid=ae3533125e

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                      #11
                      Thanks for that, ua. Good to hear that Penguin's now interested in translating Franziska Linkerhand.

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