Currently, no applications are accepted

The Paul Celan Fellowship program aims to help overcome deficits and asymmetries in the exchange of ideas and the reception of scholarly literature which result from the division of Europe in the 20th century. The program was established to contribute to filling gaps in the relevant literature on both sides, as well as improving mutual understanding between formerly isolated cultures. The Paul Celan Fellowships support East-West, West-East and East-East translations of canonical texts, as well as contemporary key works in the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies. Special emphasis is put on translations of relevant works written by East European authors and/or by female scholars.

Die Teilung Europas im Kalten Krieg hat empfindliche Lücken in der Verfügbarkeit und Rezeption zentraler Texte der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften entstehen lassen. Das IWM hat die Paul Celan Übersetzungsstipendien eingerichtet, um historisch bedingte blinde Flecken beseitigen zu helfen und den Austausch von Literatur zwischen West und Ost beziehungsweise innerhalb Osteuropas zu fördern. Das Programm unterstützt daher Übersetzungen von osteuropäischen in westeuropäische Sprachen und umgekehrt, sowie Übersetzungen von einer osteuropäischen Sprache in eine andere. Gefördert wird die Übersetzung sowohl klassischer Texte als auch gegenwärtiger Schlüsseltexte der Geistes-, Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften, insbesondere Arbeiten von osteuropäischen Autoren und/oder Wissenschaftlerinnen.

Jury

Gottfried Boehm (Chair)

Professor of Modern Art History, University of Basel; Non-Resident Permanent Fellow of the IWM

Endre Bojtar

Literary Scholar and Head of the Department of Central and Eastern European Literatures, Institute of Literary Studies, Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest

Jutta Braidt

Head of ERSTE Foundation Library, Vienna

Peter Demetz

Sterling Professor Emeritus of German and Comparative Literature, Yale University, New Haven

Diana M. Mishkova

Director, Centre for Advanced Study Sofia

Klaus Nellen

Managing Editor of Transit; Permanent Fellow, IWM

Martin Pollack

Writer and translator, Wien/Bocksdorf (Burgenland)

Background

For decades the political and cultural division of Europe deeply impaired the East-West reception of literature and debates in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Since 1989 conditions for intellectual production in Central and Eastern Europe have significantly improved. As a result, important works were published which, however, have not yet found the attention they deserve in the West.

With their transdisciplinary and comparative approach, Cultural Studies have become one of the most productive and innovative fields of contemporary research, which has successfully expanded to Eastern Europe. But although Cultural Studies are particularly conducive to intercultural understanding, translations of key texts in this discipline are still rare in both directions, East and West. Scholarly works written by female authors and/or on gender issues are generally underrepresented on the translation balance sheet between East and West.

Against this background the IWM has initiated its translation program in 1987. After two decades of successful work ERSTE Foundation joined in as a partner of the Paul Celan Fellowships for Translators. With this newly established cooperation, focus and scope of the program were adapted and expanded in order to incorporate the recent changes in the intellectual landscape of Europe.

Paul Celan Fellowship Flyer
Paul Celan Fellows currently at the IWM

Generously supported by ERSTE Foundation

Founded in 2003, ERSTE Foundation is active in the entire Central and South Eastern European region. It is implementing projects within the three programs Social Development, Culture and Europe. Through the interaction of these programs, a platform is established which promotes dialogue and a transfer of knowledge. Today, ERSTE Foundation is the main shareholder of the Erste Bank Group and one of the largest institutions of its kind in Europe.