It was fascinating to read about the English translation of Brigitte Reimann’s novel, Die Geschwister, or Siblings (East German feminist author gets English debut, 50 years after death). It made me wonder whether I am partly responsible for the slow progress that her writing has made towards reaching a larger readership in this country.
The article took me back to the impoverished streets of Walthamstow, east London, in the late 1980s. We were four East Midlands lads who’d recently moved to London, with the normal range of interests – beer, girls, gigs and (for one of us) the nightly practice of diligently translating the work of an East German feminist author into English.
Each evening, I’d try to entice my friend out for a couple of pints at the local pub. Each time, he declined my offer and continued to tap away on his old typewriter. His room was unremarkable. Peeling wallpaper, a badly put-up shelf, the odd artwork, a bed and an old desk. And, of course, a massive East German flag on the wall.
“She’ll be big one day,” he kept saying. “I want to make her work more widely available.” I nodded sagely, not knowing who he was talking about. I learned much later that the work he was translating night after night was Reimann’s Ankunft im Alltag (which he said translated roughly as The Daily Grind). He apparently managed little more than a couple of chapters before the pub – and his nagging mate – won the battle for his attention.
Having been in touch with my friend after reading your article (he lives in Germany now), he agrees with Ka Bradley of Penguin Classics that the Reimann book that needs to be translated next is the 600-page Franziska Linkerhand. He did not say whether he will volunteer to do it. If he does, I’ll leave him alone this time.
Tim Bradford
Highbury, London
