A Poetry Reading by Michael Speier

Michael Speier is a literary scholar, poet and translator, living in Berlin. He holds the Staatsexamen and a Ph.D. in German Literature from the Freie Universität Berlin. Having taught at the Freie Universität Berlin, the University at Leipzig, and several U.S. universities (Dartmouth College and Georgetown University among them), Michael Speier is also Adjunct Professor at the German Department of the University of Cincinnati. In addition to having published a number of anthologies and translated modern English, French, and Italian poetry, he is the founding editor of the Paul Celan-Jahrbuch and the literary magazine Park.

His primary scholarly interests include symbolism, expressionistic prose, translation theory and practice, the image of the city in literature, and modern poetry, especially Paul Celan. His teaching interests also include creative writing. The author of numerous articles and reviews, he has written or edited the following books: Die Ästhetik Jean Pauls (1979), Kehr um im Bild (with Dieter Straub, 1983); Im Übersetzen leben. Übersetzen und Textvergleich (with Klaus Berger, 1986); Berlin!Berlin! Eine Großstadt im Gedicht (1987); Poesie der Metropole (1990); Berlin mit deinen frechen Feuern (1998); Interpretationen: Gedichte von Paul Celan (2002); and Berlin, du bist die Stadt (2011).

He has published nine volumes of poetry (most recently: Laokoons Laptop, 2015; Haupt/Stadt/Studio, 2012; Welt/Raum/Reisen, 2007). His work has appeared in over 50 anthologies and has been translated into twelve languages. He received the Schiller Award (Weimar), the Alfred-Döblin-Grant (Akademie der Künste, Berlin), Hermann-Hesse-Grant, Stichting Culturele Uitwisseling-Grant and was writer in residence in the USA, France and Hungary. He was awarded the “Literaturpreis der A + A Kulturstiftung” in Spring 2011 and is Honorary Fellow of the American Association of Teachers of German.