👤📚 Meet the Translator | Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marsela Likaj

🎓 Position: Lecturer, Department of German Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages – University of Tirana
🌐 Specialization: Literary translation, academic translation, German literary studies

💼 Experience:
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marsela Likaj is a translator and scholar of German literature with extensive experience in translating contemporary German-language literature, modern classics, and academic texts. Through her long-standing professional work, she has played a significant role in bringing major authors and literary works from the German-speaking world closer to Albanian readers.

✨ Contribution:
She has translated into Albanian major literary works as well as publications of documentary and academic value, including The Camaj–Pipa Correspondence (1959–1992), Notes on Adenauer by Hans-Peter Schwarz, and Claudia Mast’s handbook The ABC of Journalism. In the field of contemporary literature, she has translated The Burnout Society by Byung-Chul Han, We Children from Bahnhof Zoo by Christiane F., and Letters to Milena by Franz Kafka.
She has also contributed to international literary projects such as SchreibART Online (2020–2021), introducing Albanian readers to contemporary Austrian and German authors including Milena Michiko Flašar, Susanne Gregor, Karin Peschka, Anna Weidenholzer, and Carolina Schutti. Her work further includes the translation of documentaries dedicated to Stefan Zweig, Eugenie Schwarzwald, and Marlen Haushofer, as well as participation in literary festivals and programmes such as the Tirana International Literature Festival (TILF) and Literature in Motion, through translations and presentations of German and Austrian authors including Karsten Dümmel, Klemens Renoldner, Karl-Markus Gauß, Jürgen Banscherus, Terezia Mora, Ilir Ferra, and others.

📚 Selected translated works:
🔹 The Camaj–Pipa Correspondence (1959–1992)
🔹 Hans-Peter Schwarz – Notes on Adenauer
🔹 Claudia Mast – The ABC of Journalism
🔹 Byung-Chul Han – The Burnout Society
🔹 Christiane F. – We Children from Bahnhof Zoo
🔹 Franz Kafka – Letters to Milena
🔹 International project SchreibART Online (2020–2021)
🔹 Documentaries on Stefan Zweig, Eugenie Schwarzwald, and Marlen Haushofer
🔹 The Magic of Josef Bider (monodrama) – Eberhart Streul & Otto Schenk

🏆 Recognition:
Co-founder of the German Reading Club, with a significant contribution to promoting German-language literature and fostering cultural dialogue in Albania.

💬
“Every text, a voice translated with responsibility.”

➡️ Follow the #ProfilPerkthyesish series to discover more stories from the world of translation!