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Why Italian women struggle with motherhood. Writer Silvia Avallone cuts taboos in new novel

She is young, beautiful and well-spoken. Writer Silvia Avallone, known for her bestseller Staal, does not shy away from sensitive themes in her compelling new novel Levenslichtde either, such as the economic crisis, infertility and unevenly divided parenthood. 'Claiming freedom for yourself is something terrifying for an Italian woman.' Rough edges Poverty, economic malaise, gender inequality...... 

Gesualdo project at @hollandfestival by De Warme Winkel: 'We want to anoint and flog the ears' #HF18

Say 'Carlo Gesualdo' and you say 'heavenly music', and 'cruel disposition'. This Renaissance composer's name is inextricably linked to the gruesome double murder he committed on his wife and lover when he found them in flagrante delicto. Who else but The Warm Shop could make an appealing performance of this thought Tido Visser, artistic director of the Netherlands Chamber Choir. So. 

Rainer Hofmann (SPRING): 'After the populist attack from the right, the performing arts now face an attack from the left.'

Thursday 17 May opens SPRING Performing Arts Festival in Utrecht with, among others, Sic Transit Gloria Mundi by Dries Verhoeven and to come (extended) by Mette Ingvartsen. Over ten days, more than twenty-five international dance and theatre productions, installations and performance works will be on show in public spaces and urban environments. A week earlier, festival director Rainer Hofmann looks relaxed. 'Until now... 

The Conscience of Ferrara. How writer Giorgio Bassani held up a mirror to his compatriots against their will

Een vlak en desolaat landschap strekt zich uit aan weerszijden van de oude weg naar Ferrara. Landbouwgebieden, ontstaan op de vruchtbare gronden van de Po-delta, laten een indruk achter van verval. Gaandeweg vloeien ze over in buitenwijken met een overwegend industrieel karakter. Weinig wijst op het naderen van de Italiaanse stad die door UNESCO tot werelderfgoed is benoemd. Castello Estense… 

From a skateboard to a divorce: how writer Henk van Straten ended his marriage by letter

From one day to the next, writer Henk van Straten (38) broke up his marriage and moved into a tiny house. About his struggles with loneliness, single parenthood, booze, pills and a sex addiction, he wrote Messages from the halfway house: a witty and ruthlessly honest account of his early midlife crisis. Skateboarding veteran Your crisis began, at least according to your book, with a... 

'I just wanted to show that comfort is a beautiful thing.' Esther Gerritsen, in her new novel Faith and Conscience, explores

With her new novel, Esther Gerritsen takes a surprising path. De trooster is more serious in tone than we have come to expect from her in recent years. "In the past, I would not have dared to do this, write about religion and then also without it being very funny." Uncanny "Beautiful isn't it, the cover? Esther Gerritsen is delighted with the cover 

A wolf inside you: the rage of Kristien Hemmerechts

Wolf is Kristien Hemmerechts' first novel since her non-fiction book on breast cancer, and it is about rage. What it's like to be furious, the Belgian writer knows all about that. "When I had breast cancer, I experienced intense feelings of aggression." Why is it that some people who have experienced trauma or tragedy can give it a place,... 

Of Thrillerschrijver Tomas Ross (73) na tientallen boeken het schrijven inmiddels onder de knie heeft? ‘Soms huiver ik van mijn eigen zinnen’

Tomas Ross, ook wel de godfather van de Nederlandse ‘faction’ genoemd, sluit met zijn nieuwe thriller Het verdriet van Wilhelmina zijn trilogie over Nederlands-Indië af. ,,Lezers zeggen vaak: bij u weten we nooit wat waar is en wat niet waar. Dat kun je een bezwaar vinden, maar ik vind het een compliment.’’   Arnie Springer De nieuwe thriller van Tomas… 

Why a universal basic income is necessary for the survival of the arts

A hopeful experiment has begun in Finland. The Netherlands is also trying to get something off the ground, although the government is thwarting the plans for now. Why is unclear. Because even big-capitalists like Elon Musk (Tesla) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) are now saying it: a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is the only way we can advance our society, and with it our civilisation... 

Carmien Michels, European Poetry Slam champion: 'I hope I can give many people that extra push to go on their own journey of discovery'

The best performers are a few heads taller on stage than in real life. This also applies to Carmien Michels. I knew the writer, performer, slam poet and jack-of-all-trades in cultural life mostly from her legendary performances at the 2016 NK Poetry Slam and the Night of Poetry in September 2017. Radiance and presence, which... 

Marieke Nijkamp wrote an American bestseller, and her next book is also going like a rocket: 'Young people shy away from not much'

This young writer from Hengelo - she turns 32 in January - sold over a quarter of a million copies of her debut novel This Is Where It Ends in the United States. It spent 64 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. So Hengelo-based Young Adult writer Marieke Nijkamp did feel slight pressure while writing her second book, Before I... 

José Maria Sánchez-Verdú composes musical Hell's Gate for choir and string quartet

The string quartet is considered Joseph Haydn's invention; Goethe considered it the nec plus ultra of instrumental music. 'One hears four intelligent people conversing with each other' said the poet. 'One believes to understand something of their conversation and to know the idiosyncrasies of the instruments.' We get plenty of that opportunity from 27 January to 3 February, during... 

Brian Elstak wrote Tori. Finally a book for all children? Afke Bohle asked hers. The answer is surprising.

A Quattro Mani's pop-uprecent Afke Bohle takes up the challenge of reading a book with her sons. After good experiences with Suzie Ruzie and Susan van 't Hullenaar's The Green Hand series, she is now venturing into Tori, the recent children's book by Brian Elstak in collaboration with author Karin Amatmoekrim, touted as: 'finally a book for all children'.... 

Eindelijk een oplossing voor kerststress! Schrijfster en tv-kok Nigella Lawson zegt: ‘Koken biedt meer troost dan eten’

Ze is net ingevlogen en heeft amper tijd gehad om te lunchen. Na afloop van het interview vist Nigella Lawson (57) daarom snel even een boterhammetje uit een plastic zakje uit haar tas. De succesvolle Britse televisiekok heeft een moordend schema voor de promotie van haar nieuwe kookboek, en meer dan dit zit er tussen de interviews niet in. Een… 

'Get well.' Grief therapist Julia Samuel on 'Grief work'

How should you grieve? Is there any way to grieve, or are you at the mercy of fate? How do you deal with someone in grief? Grief therapist Julia Samuel has been helping people who have lost a loved one for 25 years. By now, she knows how to and, more importantly, how not to. In March this year, a few days before... 

Thriller writer Tess Gerritsen: 'Everyone keeps their true self hidden'

I Know a Secret is the twelfth thriller in the series surrounding detective Jane Rizzoli and pathologist-anatomist Maura Isles. Writer Tess Gerritsen reached an audience of millions with it, but longs for more. As the main characters of Tess Gerritsen's thrillers, detective Jane Rizzoli and pathologist Maura Isles have been through quite a bit by now. Yet they are startled by the state of their... 

Debris, grit and zona rossa in Umbria. Italy a year after the earthquakes

What would Italy be like a year after the earthquakes, we had wondered. What would be left of the centuries-old cultural heritage in this beautiful region on the border of Umbria, Marche and Lazio? Why do you never really hear about it in the news anymore? We ourselves, Vivian de Gier and Marc Brester, residents of just... 

Rule of Three, Jan Martens/Grip. Photo: Phile Deprez.

Very different or not at all? Jan Martens on his new show Rule of Three

Rule of Three is a piece for three dancers: Steven Michel, Julien Josse and Courtney May Robertson. NAH makes the music live, the lighting is by Jan Fedinger and there are some lyrics by Lydia Davis. Rule of Three was released the previous month at De Singel in Antwerp, and its Dutch premiere is today at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam.... 

João Ricardo Pedro on living on after missing: 'I want to repay my debt'

On 11 September 1985, the biggest train disaster in Portuguese history occurred. Near Alcafache, an international express train collided with a local boom train. Nothing was ever recovered from dozens of passengers. They were totally charred in the scorching inferno. Portuguese writer João Ricardo Pedro, in his stunning novel Underway, reconstructs how one of those missing ended up in that place where... 

Witte Corneliszoon De With. Schilderij van Abraham van Westerveld

Why it makes sense for Witte de With to be renamed

Goede timing blijft altijd lastig. Net nu de middenstand klaar staat voor het Sinterklaasseizoen maakt de Raad van Toezicht van Kunstencentrum Witte de With bekend dat de naam gaat veranderen. Die naam kwam ter discussie te staan in de golf van publieke opwinding over appropriatie, unionistische beelden en genoegdoening voor het slavernijverleden van Nederland. In eerste instantie leek het te… 

On aliens, being alone and (too) much feeling: 9 life questions to rapper Typhoon

When he was given a car to play with as a child, you wouldn't hear or see him all day. Because he does love people and likes to perform, but off-stage rapper Glenn de Randamie (32), aka Typhoon, prefers to be by himself. Then he has peace, humour and creativity for ten. 'The more alone I... 

Hier word je gegarandeerd vrolijk van. Hoe kunstenaarscollectief toyisme al 25 jaar blijft verrassen

Ze bestaan al 25 jaar maar bruisen alsof ze gisteren zijn opgericht. Met de creatie van een kunstwerk bij vliegveld Eelde – vanaf vandaag live te volgen – én exposities op 25 locaties in en rondom Groningen vieren de kunstenaars van het internationale kunstenaarscollectief toyisme hun jubileum. Eigenzinnig, origineel en geëngageerd zijn misschien wel de belangrijkste kenmerken van dit internationale… 

Thriller writer Jo Nesbø: 'Harry Hole is a very intense character'

Hij is een getormenteerde, eenzelvige en tegendraadse kerel, maar ook een van de beste rechercheurs die het politiecorps van Oslo rijk is. En: een zeer geliefd personage. Harry Hole is terug, in de nieuwe thriller De dorst van Jo Nesbø. Of het interview een paar uur later kan, want hij heeft last van een jetlag. De populaire Noorse bestsellerauteur Jo… 

Setan Jawa, Garin Nugroho.

This is why Setan Jawa was such a special highlight of the Holland Festival #HF17

Setan Jawa is the latest film by prominent Indonesian director Garin Nugroho (b. 1961). It is a 'silent' film, shot in black and white by Teoh Gay Hian. It was shown at the Muziekgebouw aan t IJ during the Holland Festival last weekend. The music to the film is played live by Rahayu Supanggah Gamelan Orchestra and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Inspired... 

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