The Identity Crisis of a Researcher

When my eldest children were still little my only hobby was post-doctoral research: abstracts, presentations, travelling, articles. It was at once wonderful and terrible. I enjoy research, but I have never had the opportunity to dedicate myself to it. I learned that a demanding hobby, whether it is historical linguistics or canoeing, cannot be truly enjoyed unless you are able to practice it sufficiently. You cannot have something so difficult that it is a profession and a way of life to someone as a mere hobby.

Researching and publishing bear a close resemblance: nothing is ever enough, and you always want to do more than you are able to. You can never be good enough, and you often make mistakes. It was a relief to decide that I am not a researcher. I am a publisher, and that is difficult enough.

By Written by Päivi Koivisto-Alanko. Edited by Tomas Sjöblom. Translated by Tomi Setälä. Revised by Joe McVeigh.

Päivi Koivisto-Alanko

Päivi Ulla Katariina Koivisto-Alanko
Born August 9, 1969, Helsinki

BA 1993 (English Philology), PhD 2000, University of Helsinki
Erasmus exchange at Cambridge University 1993

Literature translation manager 2001-, Tammi Publishers
Literature translation editor 2001–2011 (Shakespeare project 2003–10), WSOY
PhD candidate 2000–2001, Department of English, University of Helsinki
Lexicographer 1995–2000, WSOY
EU intern 1994, terminology unit, translation services
Research assistant 1993–1994, Department of English, University of Helsinki

Publications
Articles on the history of English semantics, dissertation and a camping guide

Awards
Salli Journalism Prize for the Shakespeare Project Work Group 2006

Photo: Mika Federley
Written by Päivi Alanko-Koivisto and Tomas Sjöblom (ed.)
Translated by Joe McVeigh