Mathilde Montpetit
@mathildegm.bsky.social
PhD student & translator (French-English) studying medieval West Africa, eunuchs, and the Mediterranean. Plus contributing editor at The Auflauf and the Public Domain Review
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
people on this website often complain (correctly) about the death of journalism. here's an easy way to help its rebirth: by supporting independent media in Berlin.
🆘 We need your help!
Today, HEIST launches a 14-day campaign that could decide our future
→ At 200 subs, we cover our costs for a month
→ At 500, we raise writer fees – and for the first time, pay ourselves.
Subscribe to keep worker-owned journalism alive in Berlin.
www.heistberlin.com/sign-up/
Today, HEIST launches a 14-day campaign that could decide our future
→ At 200 subs, we cover our costs for a month
→ At 500, we raise writer fees – and for the first time, pay ourselves.
Subscribe to keep worker-owned journalism alive in Berlin.
www.heistberlin.com/sign-up/
September 16, 2026 at 11:32 AM
people on this website often complain (correctly) about the death of journalism. here's an easy way to help its rebirth: by supporting independent media in Berlin.
Recently found out that 1918 was a big year for cat-themed music, not least this strange comedy track that sounds like a cat getting startled:
It’s “A Cat-astrophe”! (1919)
“A Cat-astrophe” came on the tail end of an odd 1918 boom in cat-themed music.
publicdomainreview.org
September 16, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Recently found out that 1918 was a big year for cat-themed music, not least this strange comedy track that sounds like a cat getting startled:
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
Saturday in Berlin
September 15, 2026 at 8:44 PM
Saturday in Berlin
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
Loved this interview by @robmadole.bsky.social on translating Ruth Rehmann's postwar German classic ILLUSIONS (out now on Faber) >>>
www.theauflauf.com/p/rob-madole...
www.theauflauf.com/p/rob-madole...
Rob Madole on Ruth Rehmann: ‘This book rewrites German literary history’
The novelist and translator on his new edition of Ruth Rehmann’s forgotten masterpiece.
www.theauflauf.com
September 15, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Loved this interview by @robmadole.bsky.social on translating Ruth Rehmann's postwar German classic ILLUSIONS (out now on Faber) >>>
www.theauflauf.com/p/rob-madole...
www.theauflauf.com/p/rob-madole...
My favorite Auflauf interview of the year about my favorite book of the year. Had a blast talking about modernism, architecture, and baffling mid-century parenting with @robmadole.bsky.social:
Rob Madole on Ruth Rehmann: ‘This book rewrites German literary history’
The novelist and translator on his new edition of Ruth Rehmann’s forgotten masterpiece.
www.theauflauf.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:32 AM
My favorite Auflauf interview of the year about my favorite book of the year. Had a blast talking about modernism, architecture, and baffling mid-century parenting with @robmadole.bsky.social:
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
this is a bit random but one thing i'm dying to do these days is copy edit a book. i've got years of newsroom copy editing under my belt, plus a good bit of nonprofit/think tank work, and i know my way around an ARC. if you or someone you know are looking for a manuscript copy editor, get at me!
September 14, 2026 at 8:14 PM
this is a bit random but one thing i'm dying to do these days is copy edit a book. i've got years of newsroom copy editing under my belt, plus a good bit of nonprofit/think tank work, and i know my way around an ARC. if you or someone you know are looking for a manuscript copy editor, get at me!
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
Kommt im Oktober: PARATAXE Symposium XIX: AfroBerlin - afrikanisch-literarische Spuren in & aus Berlin...
September 13, 2026 at 11:30 AM
Kommt im Oktober: PARATAXE Symposium XIX: AfroBerlin - afrikanisch-literarische Spuren in & aus Berlin...
For @publicdomainrev.bsky.social, I wrote about the strange history of the first flap books, which started off as propaganda during the English Civil War and became unbelievably popular among children on both sides of the Atlantic:
Metamorphosis: Transformations in the Early Modern Flap Book (early 19th century)
By manipulating paper flaps, the child could turn Adam into Eve into a mermaid, a lion into a griffin into an eagle — all while learning about the inevitability of death.
publicdomainreview.org
September 12, 2026 at 2:35 PM
For @publicdomainrev.bsky.social, I wrote about the strange history of the first flap books, which started off as propaganda during the English Civil War and became unbelievably popular among children on both sides of the Atlantic:
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
New from me on BIG OLD GERMAN BOOKS that I loved & are distinctly connected: Effingers & Buddenbrooks.
thegoodreview.substack.com/p/on-big-old...
thegoodreview.substack.com/p/on-big-old...
On big old German books
In which I claim that the recent translation of Effingers is a sign of a coming Thomas Mann era.
thegoodreview.substack.com
September 9, 2026 at 11:35 AM
New from me on BIG OLD GERMAN BOOKS that I loved & are distinctly connected: Effingers & Buddenbrooks.
thegoodreview.substack.com/p/on-big-old...
thegoodreview.substack.com/p/on-big-old...
Our September books bring together the distant and the familiar: Celina Baljeet Basra on migrant Berlin,
@brynstole.bsky.social on minimalism and the fantastic, Michaela Anchan on the long life of the peatlands:
@brynstole.bsky.social on minimalism and the fantastic, Michaela Anchan on the long life of the peatlands:
September Books: BABEL, Kracht, Armstrong
A multi-vocal anthology of Berlin fiction, Christian Kracht’s ventures to another realm, and Sheila Armstrong finds a bog body
www.theauflauf.com
September 1, 2026 at 8:58 AM
Our September books bring together the distant and the familiar: Celina Baljeet Basra on migrant Berlin,
@brynstole.bsky.social on minimalism and the fantastic, Michaela Anchan on the long life of the peatlands:
@brynstole.bsky.social on minimalism and the fantastic, Michaela Anchan on the long life of the peatlands:
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
Auflauf Auflauf Auflauf Auflauf Auflauf
Come celebrate 6 months of the books & culture magazine with us!
7 PM September 19
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
Come celebrate 6 months of the books & culture magazine with us!
7 PM September 19
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
6 Months AUFLAUF – Lettrétage
Sep 19, 2026 19:00 Uhr | Eintritt: frei | Ort: Lettrétage, Veteranenstr. 21, 10119 Berlin | Sprache: Englisch
www.lettretage.de
August 30, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Auflauf Auflauf Auflauf Auflauf Auflauf
Come celebrate 6 months of the books & culture magazine with us!
7 PM September 19
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
Come celebrate 6 months of the books & culture magazine with us!
7 PM September 19
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
⏰ FIRST COOL MAGAZINE-PARTY OF THE NEW COOL MAGAZINE ⏰
(september 19 - free - lettrétage - very nice lineup)
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
(september 19 - free - lettrétage - very nice lineup)
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
6 Months AUFLAUF – Lettrétage
Sep 19, 2026 19:00 Uhr | Eintritt: frei | Ort: Lettrétage, Veteranenstr. 21, 10119 Berlin | Sprache: Englisch
www.lettretage.de
August 25, 2026 at 3:38 PM
⏰ FIRST COOL MAGAZINE-PARTY OF THE NEW COOL MAGAZINE ⏰
(september 19 - free - lettrétage - very nice lineup)
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
(september 19 - free - lettrétage - very nice lineup)
www.lettretage.de/programm/6-m...
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
will be reading at The Auflauf 6 Month celebration
September 19, 7pm
Lettrétage, Berlin
September 19, 7pm
Lettrétage, Berlin
August 25, 2026 at 2:46 PM
will be reading at The Auflauf 6 Month celebration
September 19, 7pm
Lettrétage, Berlin
September 19, 7pm
Lettrétage, Berlin
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
For @heistberlin.bsky.social and @ruthbetold.bsky.social, I wrote about the Union women's team and its growing fan culture, which fuses new inclusivities with older ideals and rituals >>
www.heistberlin.com/new-gods-in-...
www.heistberlin.com/new-gods-in-...
New Gods in Köpenick: The Rise of FC Union's Women's Team
The 1. FC Union women’s team is pulling big crowds. Can the fans create a culture with staying power?
www.heistberlin.com
August 21, 2026 at 10:54 AM
For @heistberlin.bsky.social and @ruthbetold.bsky.social, I wrote about the Union women's team and its growing fan culture, which fuses new inclusivities with older ideals and rituals >>
www.heistberlin.com/new-gods-in-...
www.heistberlin.com/new-gods-in-...
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
A 19th century manual on systematizing life as art and art as life: "Genevieve Stebbins’ Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression" @mathildegm.bsky.social @publicdomainrev.bsky.social
(Plus- Wings)
Rehearse: roughlydaily.com/2026/08/12/a...
(Plus- Wings)
Rehearse: roughlydaily.com/2026/08/12/a...
August 12, 2026 at 3:24 PM
A 19th century manual on systematizing life as art and art as life: "Genevieve Stebbins’ Delsarte System of Dramatic Expression" @mathildegm.bsky.social @publicdomainrev.bsky.social
(Plus- Wings)
Rehearse: roughlydaily.com/2026/08/12/a...
(Plus- Wings)
Rehearse: roughlydaily.com/2026/08/12/a...
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
I went long on the cynicism of YESTERYEAR: thegoodreview.substack.com/p/on-the-app...
I couldn't figure out where to place ideas like this, so I hope you will subscribe to my new newsletter! (I will not always be such a hater, I promise/I'm sorry.)
I couldn't figure out where to place ideas like this, so I hope you will subscribe to my new newsletter! (I will not always be such a hater, I promise/I'm sorry.)
On the apparent book of the summer, Yesteryear
Adding to what the New Yorker characterized as "some miasmic fourth phase" of discourse about the buzzy "trad wife" novel.
thegoodreview.substack.com
August 12, 2026 at 3:10 PM
I went long on the cynicism of YESTERYEAR: thegoodreview.substack.com/p/on-the-app...
I couldn't figure out where to place ideas like this, so I hope you will subscribe to my new newsletter! (I will not always be such a hater, I promise/I'm sorry.)
I couldn't figure out where to place ideas like this, so I hope you will subscribe to my new newsletter! (I will not always be such a hater, I promise/I'm sorry.)
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
it’s my BIRTHDAY!!!! Please celebrate by subscribing to my newsletter 😎 thegoodreview.substack.com/subscribe?pa...
Subscribe to Nora Biette-Timmons
Some thoughts on books (and other things). Click to read The Good Review on Substack. Launched 2 days ago.
thegoodreview.substack.com
August 9, 2026 at 3:33 PM
it’s my BIRTHDAY!!!! Please celebrate by subscribing to my newsletter 😎 thegoodreview.substack.com/subscribe?pa...
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
for my sins, I have started a newsletter, it is called The Good Review. I will mostly be talking BOOKS, but also doing some blogging about whatever else I want.
thegoodreview.substack.com/subscribe?pa...
thegoodreview.substack.com/subscribe?pa...
Subscribe to Nora Biette-Timmons
I'm an American writer/editor/journalist based in Berlin, with one foot in London. These ... are my stories. Click to read Nora Biette-Timmons on Substack. Launched 7 minutes ago.
thegoodreview.substack.com
August 7, 2026 at 1:39 PM
for my sins, I have started a newsletter, it is called The Good Review. I will mostly be talking BOOKS, but also doing some blogging about whatever else I want.
thegoodreview.substack.com/subscribe?pa...
thegoodreview.substack.com/subscribe?pa...
Loved this LRB piece about screwball comedies, which really captures what is so amazing about the genre:
Ruby Hamilton · At the Movies: Screwball Comedies
Screwballs aren’t miserabilist-humanist comedies about learning to revel in imperfection; they’re comedies of...
www.lrb.co.uk
August 4, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Loved this LRB piece about screwball comedies, which really captures what is so amazing about the genre:
This Women in Translation Month, very happy to be working at The Auflauf, where it's WITM every month: in our first 6 months we've run reviews of Franck, Maci, Mehr, Reimann; original translated fiction by Sylvia Krupicka; and an interview with Herta Müller's latest translator:
Kate McNaughton: 'Herta Müller reminds us that writers are on the front line.'
The novelist on her new translation of the Romanian-born Nobel Prize winner—and the limits of beauty as resistance
www.theauflauf.com
August 4, 2026 at 8:29 AM
This Women in Translation Month, very happy to be working at The Auflauf, where it's WITM every month: in our first 6 months we've run reviews of Franck, Maci, Mehr, Reimann; original translated fiction by Sylvia Krupicka; and an interview with Herta Müller's latest translator:
Studying to become a medieval priest was a real drag – thank goodness Solomon (?) had a series of mysterious diagrams and chants revealed to him (?), to make things go down easier.
Loved working on this excerpt from Anne Lawrence-Mathers' THE MAGIC BOOKS:
Loved working on this excerpt from Anne Lawrence-Mathers' THE MAGIC BOOKS:
Artificial Intelligence: Ars Notoria and the Promise of Instant Knowledge
Centuries before Neo instantly mastered Kung Fu in The Matrix, medieval scholars found a shortcut to years of difficult study: a magical manuscript that promised to fast-track advanced learning. Anne ...
publicdomainreview.org
July 30, 2026 at 2:42 PM
Studying to become a medieval priest was a real drag – thank goodness Solomon (?) had a series of mysterious diagrams and chants revealed to him (?), to make things go down easier.
Loved working on this excerpt from Anne Lawrence-Mathers' THE MAGIC BOOKS:
Loved working on this excerpt from Anne Lawrence-Mathers' THE MAGIC BOOKS:
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
we asked berlin's hottest what they're reading this summer
Experimental German poetry, Casanova, Virginia Woolf and John Lanchester's debut novels... Summer reading is looking even more eclectic than usual. What's on your list?
Oi! What are you reading this summer?
Friends and collaborators share what's on their bedside table at the moment.
www.theauflauf.com
July 28, 2026 at 12:01 PM
we asked berlin's hottest what they're reading this summer
Experimental German poetry, Casanova, Virginia Woolf and John Lanchester's debut novels... Summer reading is looking even more eclectic than usual. What's on your list?
Oi! What are you reading this summer?
Friends and collaborators share what's on their bedside table at the moment.
www.theauflauf.com
July 28, 2026 at 8:35 AM
Experimental German poetry, Casanova, Virginia Woolf and John Lanchester's debut novels... Summer reading is looking even more eclectic than usual. What's on your list?
Reposted by Mathilde Montpetit
A few weeks ago we had a great chat with @ajbwells.bsky.social on the legacy of neon signs in Germany.
Read the full interview here:
www.theauflauf.com/p/jesse-simo...
Read the full interview here:
www.theauflauf.com/p/jesse-simo...
Jesse Simon: ‘Is it possible to be nostalgic for a time you didn’t live in? I think it is.’
The Anglo-American typography expert on the magic of neon, signage in both Germanys, and the umlaut as engineering problem.
www.theauflauf.com
July 22, 2026 at 6:06 PM
A few weeks ago we had a great chat with @ajbwells.bsky.social on the legacy of neon signs in Germany.
Read the full interview here:
www.theauflauf.com/p/jesse-simo...
Read the full interview here:
www.theauflauf.com/p/jesse-simo...