From my first published translation to the first book I translated and beyond

"Be", the art magazine that gave me my first translation commission (Durs Grünbein's 1995 essay on deep-sea fish), was and still is published by the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, which published my first translated book in 1996: "Something about L.", a short and unusual text by Kay Heymer about the artist Jan Svenungsson (which is still available!). That led to further translations of articles about Svenungsson, and in 1998, before I had ever seen any of it in person, I even wrote an essay about his work based on what had been written about it. Eventually, I did see his works, and one hangs on the wall in my dining room. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 11 April 2021)