Writer, translator, editor
Claudia Rapp was born in 1971, grew up in the Wild West of Germany, studied Geman and English Literature at Lake Constance, earned her doctorate in American Studies in 2004, raised two daughters, and now lives in Berlin. She is a literary scholar, translator, author and editor, and also a trained bookseller. She doesn’t like to commit herself to one genre in all these things, because routine bores her. Dark and weird is always a plus though. She is particularly fond of mythology, music and magic (as well as alliteration, obviously, which she has in common with her old pal Poe). You’re most likely to find her traveling to a convention abroad, enjoying life at a rock festival, or … spending her free time on the internet.
Claudia is also part of the organizing team, initiator and chair of MetropolCon. In the program you will find her as moderator of the panel “Translation: What gets lost and what is gained” on Friday from 9:30 to 10:30 in Atelier 1 (in English) and as part of the panel “Horror und Inhaltswarnungen – eine Diskussion ĂĽber den Umgang mit extremen Themen” on Friday from 14:30 to 15:30 in Atelier 4 (in German).
TEAM INTERVIEW
Get to know the members of MetropolCon’s team, starting with Dr. Claudia Rapp. Here we go:
- Please introduce yourself briefly:
Aloha, I’m Claudia, I live in Berlin, I have two grown-up daughters, I’m a translator, writer, and editor, and I have a PhD in American Literature, with my dissertation centered on literature from Hawai’i. My love for speculative fiction began as a child, with the likes of Michael Ende, author of The Neverending Story, among other things.
- Why are you part of the MetropolCon team?
Well, I’m the one who came up with the megalomaniacal idea! It all started with my naive question why nobody organizes such an event in Berlin. Because being at cons gave me this amazing feeling of community; this heady blend of being inspired, wanting to learn new things, and being at home among like-minded people of all stripes – and now I want to help make other people feel that, too.
- It’s Saturday night at some con: Where will you be found?
Probably in the bar, hatching yet another wild scheme.
- What are your wishes for the future of the speculative genres, particularly in Germany?
Down with the artificial distinction between “serious” literature and “mere” entertainment! Diversity, pluralism, visibility, positive visions of the future. And be kind to each other, dammit!
- Best sidekick in fiction?
Rocket Raccoon? Luis from Ant Man? Darcy the intern from Thor? The MCU has a slew of great side characters. I also still fondly remember Twiki, the golden robot from Buck Rogers. If I could pick someone from a not-so-speculative series, my all-time favorite squeaky wheel is Howie Munson.
- You just won a week-long trip to a fantasy/SF world of your choice: Where will you go?
I’m a fan of time travel. And I have this nostalgic, fond memory of an old animated series called “Once Upon a Time … Man.” I can still sing along to the theme song they made for the German version. Maybe I could saunter through the history of humankind alongside Maestro and his pals?
- One work of speculative fiction (whether book or film or series or game) you would strongly recommend we all check out?
What, only one? I’m fond of stories that take existing stories and give them a new twist … so maybe I’ll go with Penny Dreadful, the series that put together Dracula, Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and lots more 19th century stuff. It’s a little on the dark side, but anything gothic is really my jam.
