Published: 14 September 2012

Deutsch-Russische/Russisch-Deutsche Übersetzerwerkstatt -

German-Russian/ Russian-German Translators Workshop

Read more: Pressemitteilung / Press Release

Published: 25 July 2012

The Baltic Sea Library is a web-based literary project run by a group of editors from all the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, plus Iceland. The website resembles an anthology and contains poetry, novel excerpts, and other genres in all the literatures of the region. The texts reach across time from antiquity — Tacitus’s Germania and Pomponius Mela’s De Chorographia — to today's contemporary Estonian prose. The unifying aspect is something the editors call “Balticness”, and each text is accompanied by an explanation of its connection to the Baltic Sea. Balticness brings the material together and allows the works and the places to be reflected in a context broader than the national literary canon. Conversely, Balticness also acts as a filter; the selection is deliberately narrow. Translation is central to the project. The visitor will find Tomas Tranströmer’s poem cycle “Baltics” translated into the Nordic and Baltic languages and into English. The ambition is for all the original texts to be presented alongside professional translations to the other languages of the region, and to English in order to make the texts more widely available.

Read more on balticworlds.com

Published: 06 May 2012

The virtual Baltic Sea Library, a non-commercial project supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, the CBSS and Bibliotheca Baltica is looking for partners, sponsors and other co-financing, at the prospect of a planned common application for means of the European Union's culture programme. The application is due this autumn and is supposed to request project sponsoring for the years 2013- 2015. Interested partners are welcome!

Published: 07 March 2012

15th March, 2012
12:00 - 12:30 pm.

Presentation: Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke & Imre Török, chairman of the German Writers’ Union

„Virtuell durch die Ostsee - Präsentation der Baltic Sea Library

Im dritten Jahr ihres Bestehens weitet sich die virtuelle Ostseebibliothek mehr und mehr zu einem literarischen Echoraum, einer Plattform, von der aus sich das gemeinsame kulturelle Erbe rund um die Ostsee erschließt.

Zwölf Herausgeber für finnische, schwedische, dänische, norwegische, isländische, russische, estnische, lettische, litauische, polnische und deutsche Literatur sowie Texte auf Latein haben sich länderübergreifend zusammengetan, um Wesen und Einflüssen der Literatur nachzuspüren.

Die Literatur zu sammeln, zu übersetzen und Leserinnen und Lesern online zur Verfügung zu stellen, geschieht dabei in dem Bewusstsein, dass es weder eine gemeinsame Literatur noch Sprache gibt. Und doch ist das umfangreiche Projekt ein vielsprachiges Statement, um das Verbindende der OstseeKultur vor Augen zu führen.“

Veranstalter: Baltic Sea Library, Finnland-Institut in Deutschland

Ort: Nordisches Forum, Halle 4, Stand D302

Please have a look at the new site on facebook as well - which we hope you “like” or will share with friends who might.

Published: 21 January 2012

At the beginning of December, Klaus-Jürgen Liedtke represented the BSL at the 1st PETRA-congress  in Brussels (PETRA stands for European Platform For Literary Translation) which should come up with recommendations for the EU commission’s new culture programme, recommendations common for both translators and publishers.

EU commissioner for culture and education Mr. Vladimir Šucha talked about language barriers as a challenge to develop our creativity as translators and about the need for thrilling tasks in order to outmanage the market mechanisms. Concrete self-administered projects can promote these skills to use our copyrights in new digital formats.

In a letter to the BSL after the congress Mr. Šucha invites us to prepare a multi-annual cooperation project and apply for EU funds on 1st October.

The new year had hardly begun when the BSL  was  presented at the "Bibliotheca Baltica Think Tank brainstorming meeting" at the National Library of Lithuania. Even the Lithuanian culture minister Mr. Arūnas Gelūnas participated and expressed his interest in a common effort.

The BBTT stands for a group of scholars, librarians and officials within the Bibliotheca Baltica association who meet with the purpose of supporting the economic, social and cultural development of the Baltic Sea region libraries. One important  idea behind the Think Tank is to promote the awareness of "Digital Europe" and boost the information society building process in the Baltic Sea region. It is quite obvious how the BSL contribute to this process by  maintaining a library that is entirely confined to the screen and yet brings together so many people and languages, opening up new ways for research and learning.

One question raised in Vilnius was if we should add Yiddish to our languages and it showed that the National Library of Finland holds collections by the Helsinki Synagogue including collections from former Vilnius Jewish congregation.

Published: 28 October 2011