Lothar Quinkenstein

Lothar Quinkenstein, honoured by the jury, is a translator, writer, poet and literary scholar. He translates works of various genres and styles from Polish into German, including several books by 2018 Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk, as well as Henryk Grynberg, Ludwig Hirszfeld and Brigid Helbig. Particularly noteworthy are the translations, done together with Lisa Palmes, of Ludwik Hirszfeld's 'History of a Single Life', Olga Tokarczuk's 'The Jakub Books' and (currently in preparation) Bolesław Prus' 'Lalka'. Lothar Quinkenstein is a translator with all his heart and soul; he celebrates language and is never satisfied with quick results. In addition to translation and teaching at the European University Viadrina, he is also involved in literary and cultural education, among other things as co-editor of the series "Library of Polish Holocaust Literature" and the anthology "PeriGraphien. The edges of Europe - the centre of Europe. Debora Vogel, Itzik Manger, Arnold Slutsky', which was published in 2016 by buch|bund bookstore as part of a series of conversations initiated by Quinkenstein under the same title.