Book launch of 'Berlin Babel' with author Lin Hierse and translator Jon Cho-Polizzi, part of the Germany on Campus series.
Lin Hierse will be at Alphabet City on Sunday, November 1, for a conversation about her new book, Berlin Babel. The event is part of the Germany on Campus series, and she'll be joined by the book's translator, Jon Cho-Polizzi, who is also moderating the talk.
Berlin Babel is a collection of 14 short stories written by people who live in Berlin, each one touching on what draws them to the city and what keeps them there. It's being billed as the first international anthology of contemporary writing on Berlin, and the range of voices is a good part of the appeal: the stories come from writers originally from Syria, Turkey, China, the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Germany, Italy, and India, translated from eight different languages. The book is newly translated into English, and the conversation will center on that process—how these different voices make it across into one collection.
Hierse is a prolific writer, journalist, poet, and public intellectual. Her 2022 autofictional debut, Wovon wir träumen (What We Dream Of), and her 2024 novel, Das Verschwinden der Welt (The Disappearing World), both follow the lives of women shaped by migration, so Berlin Babel fits right into the themes she's been working with. Cho-Polizzi is an award-winning literary translator and an Assistant Professor of German at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; his translations won the 2025 Schlegel-Tieck Prize and the 2024 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Pittsburgh and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
The talk runs from 2 PM to 3 PM at Alphabet City, 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. It's free, with both in-person and livestream tickets available.
