Anna von Rath

author, translator & diversity trainer


Main focus: Postcolonialism & literature

Websites/blogs: https://pocolit.com/annavonrath/ , https://pocolit.com/en/ , https://www.machtsprache.de/

Languages: English, German, Spanish

City: Berlin

State: Berlin

Country: Germany

Topics: sensitivity reading

Services: Talk, Moderation, Workshop management, Consulting, Coaching, Interview

  Willing to travel for an event.

Personal note:

I translate and write, I organize and moderate (literary) events, I give lectures and offer social justice and diversity trainings. My topics are similarly diverse: e.g. postcolonialism, intersectionality, language and discrimination as well as bias in (machine) translation.

Bio:

I spent ten years at universities in Potsdam, Hyderabad, London and Cape Town studying and researching postcolonial literature, gender studies and much more. For my PhD on Afropolitan literature and activism I received the Better World Award.

In 2015 I completed a one-year training to become a social justice and diversity trainer. Since then, I've offered numerous workshops on, for example, critical whiteness, language and discrimination, positionality and spheres of influence.

I like to try new things and initiating creative projects. That's why I have already conceptualized and developed two web apps with different teams: an audio guide for postcolonial city tours through Potsdam and macht.sprache., a digital tool for politically sensitive translation.

Examples of previous talks / appearances:

"Es gibt mehr Insekten als in Madrid": Ein Gespräch mit Inger-Maria Mahlke, 2020

Mit Inger-Maria Mahlke, der Autorin des preisgekrönten Romans Archipel, spreche ich über Natur, die spanische Klassengesellschaft und kolonialgeschichtliche Zusammenhänge.

This talk is in: German
"Two Trees Make a Forest": Green Library Event with Jessica J. Lee, 2020
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On the 5th of June 2020, Anna von Rath of poco.lit. talked to Jessica J. Lee about her two books "Two Trees Make a Forest: On Memory, Migration and Taiwan" and "Turning: a Swimming Memoir". The event was part of the Festival Offenes Neukölln and funded by the Berlin Senate. A transcript of the event as well as a German translation is available at https://pocolit.com/.

This talk is in: English
The political responsibility of the translator in the 21st century, panel discussion, 2021
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To mark International Translation Day 2021 the Goethe-Institut London looked at the political responsibilities of the translator in our turbulent times. How can translators take an activist role, and is it their responsibility to do so?

Taking part in the discussion were three protagonists whose work reflects on the role of translation in debates surrounding post-colonial literatures, gender and race, and their associated power structures.

The discussion was moderated by Charlotte Ryland from the Stephen Spender Trust, and featured contributions from poco.lit's Anna von Rath, literary translator Canan Marasligil, and Yousif M Qasmiyeh, a researcher on Refugee Writing at Oxford University.

This talk is in: English