Transnational Series: Rachel TonThat and Tobias Bärtsch with Rita Mooke

"TonThat and Bärtsch make language perceptible across languages and honor the creative work of translation—producing a work of rare coherence . . . Under TonThat’s direction, this multilayered, carefully designed form—from film photography to overall design—elevates the book far beyond a simple collection, making it a work that not only preserves the traditions but also reflects on, interrogates, and revitalizes them." —Janin Pisarek, folklorist, narrative researcher, and Vice President of the European Fairy Tale Society

Die Alp an sich is a bilingual collection of literary translations of Swiss folklore from the Sarganserland region by Tobias Bärtsch and Rachel TonThat. Translated from Swiss German and High German into English for the first time, the book dwells on the lifespan of the stories through time with past versions paired with historical context, new retellings, and excerpts from 19th to 21st century folklorists, including an essay by folklorist Dr. Meret Fehlmann at the University of Zurich.

Rachel TonThat is an interdisciplinary artist and writer working with narrative structures around themes of possible futures, memory, and space-time. She is co-founder of the social art and publishing project, Oreades Press, and curates the project space Airtight Garage. She was selected for the inaugural She Who Has No Master(s) writing mentorship through the Diasporic Vietnamese Artist Network, and her work has been supported by the city of Zurich, the canton of St. Gallen, New England Foundation For the Arts, Mass Cultural Council, Collective Futures Fund, Tin House Writing Workshop, and Fondation Jan Michalski. Her essays and art criticism have appeared in Diacritics, The Amp, and Boston Art Review.

Tobias Bärtsch is a Swiss-Polish artist and writer based in Zurich, Switzerland. His interdisciplinary practice spans various media, often beginning with text. In 2024, he participated in the group exhibition Uncanny Unchained at Kunsthalle St. Gallen. He has written for various publications, such as PW Magazine and transversal texts. His work has been supported by the canton of St. Gallen through a Werkbeitrag grant.

Moderator Dr. Rita Mookerjee is a co-founder of Honey Literary, the vice president of Sundress Publications, and a poetry editor of Split Lip Magazine. An assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Worcester State University, her research has been funded by the Fulbright Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She is the author of False Offering and Banana Heart, winner of the 2024 Steel Toe Books Poetry Award.