Solid Battle over multicultural society marks new era for Writers Unlimited #wu15

20 years of Writers Unlimited's existence, and the anniversary, now in The Hague, comes at a time when free writing worldwide is under heavier pressure than ever. Perhaps that is also why the audience is more numerous than previous editions. All nights are rigidly sold out, making for a rather sweltering atmosphere in the Theater aan het Spui.

Apt opening of the first Winter Night in the small hall: Adriaan van Dis in a real battle with Trouw columnist Nuweira Youskine. Subject is the multicultural society, of which Van Dis is an advocate, while Nuweira Youskine argues against: according to her, fusion will never succeed, while according to an Dis it is only a matter of time before we will laugh at the hatred that is currently fuelled by religion, something that will become a thing of the past anyway, in the future vision of the éminence grise of Dutch literature.

We got the whole thing on video. Things were going nicely, led by writer Abdelkader Benali, who needed little effort to further stoke the fire.