An interview with James J Conway, founder of Rixdorf Editions…
Rixdorf Editions is a Berlin-based indie press set up in 2017 by Australian expat James J Conway, with the aim of bringing “unfairly neglected texts of the German Empire to a contemporary English-language readership”.
More specifically, the press shines a light on lesser-known works and an array of intriguing authors and individuals from the Wilhelmine period, translating and publishing essays, reportage, fiction and non-fiction titles that span topics such as female emancipation, antisemitism, sexual minorities, lifestyle reform and utopian visions.
Until now, the press has breathed new life into significant and fascinating works by the likes of Arno Holz and Johannes Schlaf, Else Lasker-Schüler, Magnus Hirschfeld, August Endell, Hermann Bahr, Ilse Frapan, Franziska zu Reventlow—with even more from this culturally vibrant era introduced through Conway’s Strange Flowers project…
Can you tell us a bit about yourself, and how and when you ended up coming from Sydney to Berlin?
I was born and grew up in Sydney and then moved to London in 1998. I ended up in financial reporting because I felt I should have a grown-up job but it turned out that being a grown-up, or being that version of a grown-up, sucked. But I stuck at it; maybe it was something I inherited from my parents’ generation, this idea that you’re not supposed to like your job.
But I grew to actively hate it, I was stressed the whole time, and the hassle of living in London outweighed the appeal, and in 2006 I moved to Berlin to seek a more fulfilling existence. I had only been here a few times and it was a shot in the dark. It’s not exactly the most original trajectory, but there is a reason people keep coming here. I’m certainly glad I did.
As I understand it, you were already working as a commercial
English-German translator when you arrived—what got you interested in The Awful German Language?
I don’t have a German background. German and Germany had never really been on my radar but in London I felt I really should be able to speak another European language besides some so-so French. I started learning German with all the humility (and humiliation) that comes with embarking on a new language as an adult. I was using outdated text books which grossly misled me about the wisdom of referring to a German waiter as “Herr Ober”.
But I kept at it, upgraded my materials and after I arrived in Berlin I got a Diploma in Translation and started commercial translation work. I instinctively felt an affinity for literary translation. But it took a while until I realised no one was going to wave a wand and say “NOW you can translate novels!” and sprinkle me in literary translator dust. You just have to try it and if the outcome sucks too hard then you don’t have to show it to anyone.
You set up Rixdorf Editions in 2017; can you outline the events that led to that decision?
In the earlier part of the decade I developed a fascination with the Wilhelmine era which ripened into obsession. I read and researched and there was so much I wanted to share, but I didn’t know what form that should take.
I was amazed to discover Berlin’s Third Sex, Magnus Hirschfeld’s incredible document about queer life in early 20th century Berlin, had never been published in English. I wanted to translate it, but my partner Miles suggested that if I was going to pitch it to a publisher, maybe I should think about other titles from the era to go along with it (he probably regrets ever saying that). And then I thought through what titles they might be, how they could be presented, and I had such a clear image in my mind of how it should all come together that I decided to do it myself, even though I have zero experience in publishing.
Rixdorf Editions began in 2017, which was also the year I became a German citizen and the first year…