Professor Karen Leeder FRSA, MAE
Schwarz-Taylor Chair of the German Language and Literature, Faculty of Medieval & Modern Languages; Fellow of The Queen’s College
About
Professor Karen Leeder has published widely on modern German culture, especially of the post-1945 and contemporary periods. Her interests include poetry and the poetic tradition, the literature of the former GDR (East Germany), contemporary German culture, women’s writing, angels, spectres, lateness, afterness, translation, Rilke and Brecht. She is a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature, including works by Evelyn Schlag, Raoul Schrott, Michael Krüger and Volker Braun.
Professor Leeder was awarded the 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize for her English translation of Psyche Running: Selected Poems 2005–2022 by renowned German poet Durs Grünbein.
Expertise
- Contemporary German literature, film and culture
- German politics and history
- Translation
Selected publications
Media experience
Professor Karen Leeder appears regularly on television and radio.
Recent media work
Languages
English, German