“Every age begets the activists it deserves. Cultural regression breeds its own brand of resistance, and it is no coincidence that the era of Hirschfeld and Reventlow also saw the emergence of Expressionism and Dadaism. It will be interesting to see which other Wilhelminian rebels will be added to Rixdorf’s exciting new list.”
Publisher James J. Conway talks to Phillip Adams on Late Night Live, Radio National (Australia), 5 September 2018
About the press
RIXDORF EDITIONS was a Berlin-based press formed in 2017 which was committed to bringing unfairly neglected texts of the German Empire to a contemporary English-language readership. While the Germany of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was distinguished by censorship and a reactionary official culture, it also sustained a remarkable number of progressive writers. Essays, reportage and other non-fiction titles often foretold a world surprisingly similar to our own. Advocates for female emancipation, sexual minorities, lifestyle reform and utopian visions pursued their ideals with an energy and rigour to rival anything in the country’s fabled 1920s. Meanwhile, fiction writers expanded the boundaries of form, style and subject matter in ways that can still appear radical to us now. The Rixdorf Editions list aimed to reflect this innovation and diversity with original English translations of publications from the era paired with thoughtful commentary which puts the works and their creators in context. The press ceased operations at the end of 2022.
Further reading
James J. Conway on setting up the press at minor literature[s]
James J. Conway discusses the development of the press with Slow Travel Berlin
An article for the Goethe-Institut (in German here)
The origin of the name
An insight into the artwork (and an update)
Rixdorf Editions on Twitter
James J. Conway on ending Rixdorf Editions after five years