Karen Leeder, a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature and distinguished member of the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at the University of Oxford, has held an Einstein BUA/Oxford Visiting Fellowship at Freie Universität since 2023. In her fellowship project, titled ‘AfterWords’, Leeder moves beyond the academy to involve creatives at every step of the way, rereading German poetry of the twentieth century and asking: what is it to come after, to follow from a preexisting model?

The project explores these questions by following three strands. The first, ‘After Confession’, studies the lyric subject and how it has been dismantled or expanded beyond a conventional sense of lyric subjectivity. The second strand, ‘Afterlives’, delves into elegy and ghosts, which haunt poetry with that which has come before, while the third strand, ‘Afterwords’, pursues the afterlives of poems as they are transformed into other media, such as film, sculpture, and art, and into new languages. “Cumulatively,” in the words of Leeder, “the project explores the mechanisms that allow poetry to circulate beyond its own time, place, and form.” A fourth projected strand, ‘After Nature’, will continue beyond the end of the formal project and draw together the previous conclusions, relating them to poetry and the Anthropocene.

As the project nears its planned conclusion, there are a number of achievements to celebrate and look forward to. Leeder and her team recently produced the penultimate episode of the podcast series ‘Nach dem Gedicht/After the Poem’ created in collaboration with Haus für Poesie, in which professor Jutta Müller-Tamm of the Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School of Literary Studies sits down with poet Nadja Küchenmeister to discuss how creators perceive what comes after their individual poems. In addition, several books have emerged from Leeder’s project. AfterWords: Nachheit und Nachleben in der Lyrik (eds. Jan Derksen and Lisa Memmeler: Berlin Universities Publishing, 2025) was born out of an experimental joint Masters seminar between Oxford and Berlin, gathering contributions from those who took part. Similarly, a seminar held as part of the project in summer 2024 led to publication of the pamphlet “Alternative Archive. Acht Gedichtgespräche” (ed. Lea Schneider: Hochroth Munich 2025), which seeks to bring to light the traditions and hidden archives from which poets draw today. The final project workshop (places still available), scheduled for October 23, 2025, takes up the translation strand of the project with academics, poets and translators in conversation with one another, featuring a specially commissioned film by the group Poesie Handverlesen.

Beyond its academic contributions, ‘AfterWords’ has also become a model for how a fellowship can generate a space for collaboration and exchange across disciplines and their artistic practices. “The whole project was always meant to make space for all those involved to pursue their interests,” Leeder reflects. She emphasizes the importance of her host, Jutta Müller-Tamm, as well as colleagues and collaborators such as poet and postdoc Lea Schneider, doctoral researcher Lisa Memmeler, and research associate Jan Derksen. “At every stage, creative artists have been a full part of the project,” she adds, citing events at venues like Haus für Poesie, Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, and the Brecht-haus, where poets, academics, and artists came together. Highlights include the 2024 colloquium, Enter the Ghosts, which commissioned new work by the Kollectiv Kaboom, and Nimm Notiz! 3, a collaborative project inspired by Elke Erb that culminated in sculpture, film, and sound collage.

For Leeder herself, the fellowship has been both generative and transformative. “Working on the project has also inspired me in new directions,” she explains, pointing to new collaborations in Berlin, invitations to lecture, and writing projects that have grown directly out of ‘AfterWords’. Alongside a forthcoming essay volume, she is preparing two books on Rilke, including an anthology of translations and an academic study of his reception in English. This balance of creative and critical work also informs her longstanding engagement with poet Durs Grünbein, whom she has both studied and translated. Her translation of Psyche running (Seagull Press, 2024) was awarded the 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize. Looking beyond the academy, she says, “I am very pleased that the project has reached out into the vital landscape of Berlin’s art scene,” linking her fellowship not only to scholarship but also the living cultural fabric of the city.

Outside her work, Leeder finds inspiration in Berlin’s many layers. “I love Berlin, the art scene especially is extraordinary, from the emerging and experimental to the world-class. I am constantly exploring.” She highlights the city’s flea markets and lakes as particular favorites, and when it comes to working spaces, she remains happily itinerant: cafés across the city, the peaceful grounds of the Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof, and even “Coffee Drink your Monkey” at Savignyplatz, where she escaped the summer heat to write.