Everything to do with letters
His two internationally successful novels Oorlog en terpentijn (War and turpentine) and De bekeerlinge (The convert) take Stefan Hertmans around the world. But the social side of life it clashes with his desire for solitude. Six life questions to Flemish author Stefan Hertmans. 'When I am alone, I find myself.' 1. What is your recurring dream? 'For fifty years, I have had to...
Every year in early January, a beautifully printed booklet falls through my letterbox. This tradition of Kopper Monday has almost been lost. Only some small printing companies still send their relations a Kopper edition. What exactly is it, and why is it so special? Copper Monday is the first Monday after Epiphany (6 January). Traditionally a holiday for the guilds. The...
Tjeerd Posthuma: 'Millennials, people of my generation, can handle disappointments very badly. I wanted to write a book about a little boy who had a lot going on in his life and was already coping badly with setbacks at a fairly young age. That idea evolved into the perspective of his older sister, who is jealous of her little brother but is not so herself...
We Had Love, We Had Guns by Christine Otten is about black resistance fighter Robert F. Williams, who fought for black equality. In the theatre adaptation of the same name, white actors - including Huub van der Lubbe - play black characters and vice versa. Double talk about personal sacrifice, skin colour and connection. Idlewild It is a remarkable coincidence. America is taking...
Five art experiences will always stick to this bizarre year for me. And one thing really scared me. Whether the worst is now behind us? At least the most extraordinary is still on view until 5 February 2017. A chronological overview of what was unbelievable, unthinkable, inconceivable, unbelievable and perhaps untrue. Much of it, by the way, will be in 2017...
On 20 December, the general membership meeting of Coöperatief Cultureel Persbureau unanimously decided to accept a cooperation offer from The Co-operative/House of Journalism and Reporters Online. This is an important step in the development of independent cultural journalism. Culture Press, as the Cooperative Cultural Press Agency is known on the internet and social media, is growing significantly as a result. The...
Two of the finest stories in world literature have recently been reissued. The Dead (1914) by James Joyce and The Clerk Bartleby (1853) by Herman Melville have effortlessly stood the test of time. They are still wonderful reads. 'His soul slowly ebbed away as he heard it gently snowing through the universe and gently snowing in the...
More than 120 million books have sold bestselling author Wilbur Smith - two thousand Wembley stadiums full. His steady recipe - violence, magic, mystery, adventure, hunting and sex - has kept his readership enthralled for more than half a century. To keep his output high, he has recently started working with co-authors. Only the 'Egypt novels', which include his new book Pharaoh, he writes himself....
During her lifetime, Astrid Lindgren received almost seventy-five thousand letters from fans all over the world. The creator of headstrong characters such as Pippi Longstocking, The Lionheart Brothers and Ronja the Robber's Daughter was at least as headstrong herself. This is clear from the voluminous biography This Day, One Life. Back to Näs, where Astrid Lindgren grew up and still lives on. Playing, playing, playing...
The cost of crisis Small heroes is the title of the new novel by Almudena Grandes, one of Spain's greatest writers. And little heroes it is all about: the novel is actually a collection of interrelated stories about people like all of us, only these people all live in Madrid. Rich and poor, young...
Sea monsters, devouring whirlpools and seductive sirens - the primal power of the sea has been a source of awe, fear, fascination and myth for humans for centuries. In millions of years, the tide will no longer exist, but until then, we still have plenty to do with its beauty and dangers. In The Tide, published last month, the British ...
Kleine opstandige meisjes, daar weten schrijver Jaap Robben en illustrator Benjamin Leroy wel raad mee. Suzie Ruzie, het meisje met een stinkvinger, gaat naar het zwembad. Niet in het kleuterbad – welnee, in het diepe! A Quattro Mani’s gastrecensente Afke Bohle, moeder van drie, ging met haar mee. Het eerste boek dat wij hier in huis hadden liggen van Jaap Robben…
'I have a hundred wishes, and if I think carefully maybe a thousand,' writes Toon Tellegen in Het grote taartenboek, published to mark his seventy-fifth birthday today. 'But one wish is my dearest wish, and that is to sit among the animals on the riverbank one afternoon in early summer....
He wrote more than twenty-five books, half of them for young people, but actually Jan Terlouw did not want to write at all. He was a mathematician and physicist, did nuclear fusion research and later became a politician - that was more than enough. Besides, writing right-handed (as it was taught in school) was torture for someone who is left-handed. It had then...
Isn't there enough anger and aggression in our world yet? You would think so, yet Rikko Voorberg (36)[hints]Theologian Rikko Voorberg (1980) is founder of the PopUpKerk, organises art installations and is a publicist; he is a guest correspondent on Anger at De Correspondent and has a regular column in the Nederlands Dagblad. He started the PopUpKerk at the invitation of the...
The last lavender fields have been harvested, and Haute-Provence is preparing for autumn. The white mists come earlier and start to rise later. As the village of Monieux basks in the sun, which still shines warm and bright, the tree-lined river Nesque meanders through the valley stretching out at our feet. Sanctifying silence....
This week saw the publication of Nobel Prize winner Herta Müller's autobiography, My Homeland, an Apple Pit. A few years ago, A Quattro Mani had an exclusive interview with the Romanian writer, when her first collection of poetry collages was published, The Skirt-chaser and its sly aunt. We spoke to her at her home in Berlin, she revealed how her poetry collages are created, and the making...
Back to the 11th century His previous novel Oorlog en terpentijn (War and turpentine) brought Belgian writer Stefan Hertmans world success. The book became a bestseller and was showered with praise and awards. It gave Hertmans a whole new readership. His new novel De bekeerlinge was therefore eagerly awaited. Hertmans came up with the subject for his new novel...
Among all the great titles vying for attention, debuts are often overlooked. Each month, in the series The Debut, A Quattro Mani discusses a notable debut novel of recent times. On your own two feet You are eighteen, nineteen and moving out of the house, studying. The world is at your feet, freedom beckons, your promising dreams are about...
A year ago, Belgian writer Kristien Hemmerechts was diagnosed with breast cancer. While embarking on a course of surgery, radiotherapy and hormone therapy, she contained the chaos in words. Her new book Er gebeurde dit, er gebeurde dat is the beautiful result of that. A vivid account of the confusion, emotions and thoughts during those first few months, framed by older...
'Have you really been listening to poems for three hours?' Asaf Avidan had not yet experienced anything like that. The musical headliner of the 34th Night of Poetry has yet another story to take with him on his tour. In the Netherlands, you can quiet a full hall by reading a poem. This year, that even succeeded ...
The jury of the ECI Literature Prize has brought criticism upon itself with an idiosyncratic choice for the shortlist. In choosing Connie Palmen with Jij zegt het [You say it], Bert Natter with Golberg, Marja Pruis with Zachte riten [Gentle rites], Tonnus Oosterhoff with Op de rok van het universum [On the skirt of the universe], Arnon Grunberg with Moedervlekken [Mother stains] and Martin Michael Driessen with Rivieren [Rivers], the jury ignored...
Vacancy: Advisors one-off grants - Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) From 1 March 2017 The Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) invests in art that enriches life in the city. The AFK provides grants to artists and cultural organisations, drives innovation and stimulates the quality, dynamism and pluriformity of Amsterdam art. The AFK supports both experiment...
With an average of two novels a year, the Flemish writer has built a huge and unique body of work in over thirty-five years - he turns 63 this week, but the number of books he has written far exceeds that number. Interview with the man who writes faster than his shadow, in ten quiz questions. 'Well, I don't appear to be a connoisseur of my own work, do I?'
Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) seeks a member for the Supervisory Board from 1-1-2017 The AFK invests in art that enriches life in the city. The AFK provides subsidies to artists and cultural organisations, drives innovation and stimulates the quality, dynamism and pluriformity of Amsterdam art. The AFK supports both experimentation and proven quality,...
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