It's not America here... or is it? #WN17 #WU17

Whether the end of communism and beginning of capitalism influenced his writing? Mircea Cartarescu, one of Romania's greatest writers, parried the question with a joke. 'That is far too small an event to change my style and novels.'

Is this the real life? That is the theme of this year's Winternachten literary festival. What does fiction mean in a world where fake seems to reign supreme? And speaking of fake - will Donald Trump's populism have its effects here too? Serious subjects, brought - as befits Winternachten - with a witticism and framed by music, poetry, readings and animation.

But whether it was because of Trump's inauguration yesterday or not, the evening started a bit awkwardly. After a wonderful reading by Australian-Dutch writer Michel Faber followed two conversations. First between Faber and Hanna Bervoets, who won two awards this week, then between Romanian Mircea Cartarescu and Czech economist Tomas Sedlacek, who became known for his book The economics of good and evil (2009). It was about capitalism, which has brought so many pleasures to man, but also so much evil. Michel Faber saw it as an organism that has managed to adapt in such a way that it has become almost indestructible. And it was about real and fake, about which Mircea Cartarescu said: 'Only pain is real, that which you really feel.' According to Faber, in today's times, when superficial entertainment, lies and untruthfulness seem to predominate, writing is even an act of protest.

Refugees

Therefore, the importance of telling stories about what is really going on in the world, to bring compassion and understanding for each other, is perhaps greater now than ever. In the programme section 'In the Mirror of Refugees', writers Tommy Wieringa, Olga Grjasnowa, Hassan Blasim, whose penetrating book Corpse exhibition has appeared, and the Russian Mikhail Shishkin. Blasim is from Baghdad, but fled from Iraq to Finland. 'Life in Iraq is a nightmare,' he said bluntly. 'Very few people there have a good life.'

Mikhail Shishkin knows the stories of refugees from a different angle. He worked for some time as an interpreter in the immigration service, hearing countless terrible histories of refugees. 'People who tried to do their jobs with heart got burned out in no time. To keep it up, you had to become a kind of robot. My outlet was to write about it. When I had published a book, I was immediately fired.' According to Shishkin, fiction is not just a way to maintain a human perspective on the horrors refugees have to endure; 'It is a way to overcome the horrors with love and human warmth.'

Digital girlfriends

In the room next door, things were more light-hearted. The programme section 'The Hidden Space' brought readings by some nine original poets, including Hannah van Binsbergen, Marieke Rijneveld and Obe Alkema. After this, Simone van Saarloos spoke in 'Mirror Mirror on the Wall' with Hanna Bervoets about our tendency to sell fairy tales in the media and through social media, and to believe in the image we present to ourselves and to each other. It also talked about Bervoets' upcoming novel Fuzzie, which will be published in April.

The novel is about the forms love can take and whether love is not mainly a form of projection. Because if it is, can't we love anything? Like a fluffy, soft ball - a fuzzie - that talks and comforts? The idea is a lot less abstract than you might think, the writer showed. In Asia, for example, there is Rinko, a friend on the phone who pays attention to you, asks how you are doing, tells you that you are so cute. Not only a remedy for loneliness, but also for practising relationships.

Bervoets examines certain social conventions, norms and ideas in each new novel. 'I want to show where norms and values come from and how they change over time.' And that without value judgment: 'I think the real-fake distinction, for example, is dangerous. Because 'fake' is considered inferior - "that's so fake." That makes it an easy way to dismiss things.'

It's not America here - or is it?

The debate in the main hall consisted of the diptych 'This is Not America' and 'It's Not America Here'. The first part brought together writers Ian Buruma, Colson Whitehead, Rodrigo Hasbún and Christine Otten in a spirited conversation. It was about the divisions among the population in America and the deep divide exposed by Trump's election. The reason for that division - the fact that the two camps do not meet, do not speak and therefore do not understand each other - also became clear during the conversation.

According to Hasbún, originally Bolivian but living in America for eight years, there is not just one America, but many, depending on your background, hometown, skin colour and the social class you belong to. 'There is a great contrast between the America I know and what Trump represents.' This was confirmed by Colson Whitehead, who, as a black American, is horrified by everything Trump stands for. 'If you vote for Trump because you are racist, you are an asshole. If you are not racist but still vote for Trump, you are an asshole because you are putting others up with this man,' he said wittily. 'I don't know a single Trump voter and I like to keep it that way. I prefer to stay in that bubble, in a Trump voter-free life.'

Populism

An understandable reaction, but not one that closes the gap, Ian Buruma, Arnon Grunberg, Bas Heijne and Margriet Oostveen thought in the second session. These four filed the reasons for the U-turn in America, and the likelihood that something similar will happen here in March, at the elections. Populism appeals so strongly to people, Heijne said, because someone like Trump or Wilders oversimplifies things. 'They promise a radical simplification of a complex society that citizens still understand very little about. They promise a radical restoration of autonomy. The rhetoric of populist leaders is that they represent the voice of the people. This moves towards a dictatorship, because whoever has a different opinion therefore does not belong to the "real people".

Grunberg sees that a destruction of the post-war order is underway, for example of the taboo on scapegoating. 'The similarity to what happened in the 1930s is that the status quo is being destroyed by the far right, and the group in the middle does not like the status quo enough to protect it.'

So maybe it is more America here anyway than we think, and than many people would like. The question is how the divide within our society is not going to lead to as much division as in the United States. In any case, the groups need to engage and stay in dialogue with each other, Margriet Oostveen opined. 'You just shouldn't have high expectations of it.'

It was not a happy story that people returned home with, but it was an important story and much food for thought. Fortunately, there were still the upbeat beats of DJ Socrates to start the night...