{"id":98209,"date":"2025-08-13T13:22:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T11:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/?p=98209"},"modified":"2025-08-13T13:22:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T11:22:23","slug":"ocean-vuong-ontvangt-belle-van-zuylenring-en-komt-op-27-september-naar-utrecht","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2025\/08\/ocean-vuong-ontvangt-belle-van-zuylenring-en-komt-op-27-september-naar-utrecht\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean Vuong receives Belle van Zuylenring and comes to Utrecht on 27 September"},"content":{"rendered":"

Proud and delighted we are: we may author and poet Ocean Vuong <\/strong>received at ILFU 2025. Vietnamese-American Vuong will receive this year's Belle van Zuylenring<\/a> <\/strong>awarded, an international honorary prize for a writer's oeuvre with strong social commitment. Vuong will also deliver the accompanying Belle van Zuylen lecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocean Vuong<\/a> is a star author whose work is a rare combination of literary beauty, social themes (migration, trauma, poverty, queerness) and emotional vulnerability. Vuong has a huge fan base around the world, including many young readers and people from the queer community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Belle van Zuylenring award committee characterises Vuong's work as \"written close to the raw heart of life. Vuong writes about outsiders, loners and the desperate but at the same time about all of us: searching and longing in a fragmented world. With his tender-sharp pen, he pierces illusions and shows us that life is worth living, not in spite of pain and destitution but including them.' On the day Ocean Vuong launched the Belle van Zuylenring<\/a> receive, on Saturday 27 September at TivoliVredenburg, he will also address the accompanying Belle van Zuylen lecture <\/strong>from.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Ocean Vuong<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ocean Vuong was born in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, 1988) and fled to the United States with his parents and grandmother when he was two years old. There, Vuong grew up with his mother and grandmother, in poverty and at the bottom of society. Vuong's mother could neither read nor write, but her son would become the author of a global bestseller.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocean Vuong made his debut with poetry. In 2016, his debut collection of Night Sky with Exit Wounds<\/em>, with which he immediately won the T.S. Eliot Prize. Three years later, he published the novel that made him world-famous, On earth we shine for a moment <\/em>(translated into Dutch by Johannes Jonkers, Hollands Diep, 2019). It is a novel in letter form, a letter to Vuong's Vietnamese mother, stuck in her war trauma. A story of alienation and survival, love and sex, memory and numbness in an inimitably individual style, polyphonic and multiform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

'That polyphony also ensures that it is not just a novel about Vietnamese refugees, or about homosexuality, or about poverty in America, or about a young writer finding his way - it is about all those things.<\/em>' - Roos van Rijswijk in NRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0'The novel invites the reader to look precisely at what you might normally turn away from: at war traumas passed down from generation to generation, at the difficult reality of being non-white and trying to put down roots as a refugee in the United States, at the hopelessness that comes with poverty (razor-sharp in the denunciation of the way OxyContin is marketed), and at the struggle to (live) your queer identity in a stubbornly heteronormative culture.'<\/em> - LA Review of Books<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His successful novel was followed by his second collection of poems, Time is a Mother<\/em> (2022), translated into Dutch by Onno Kosters as Time is a mother<\/em>. Vuong wrote the collection after his mother's death, and once again it shows his great poetic power, his delicate take on the sensuous. A dreamy collection about life, loss and love, it definitively confirmed Vuong's position in the poetic firmament.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Vuong at Oprah's Book Club this spring<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Vuong's latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness <\/em>(The Emperor of Gladness<\/em>, translated by Johannes Jonkers, Hollands Diep, 2025) is about the young, troubled Hai, who builds a special bond with a war-traumatised and demented old woman, Lithuanian Grazina. In recognisable Vuong-like fashion, the desolation of today's America, growing poverty and hopelessness are linked to an individual's hope and resilience. The Emperor of Gladness<\/em> is an extremely tender novel, which has already been called \"a potent antidote to potty masculinity\" and \"a paean to solidarity\" in reviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to being a writer and poet, Ocean Vuong is a lecturer creative writing<\/em> at New York University. He is an important icon for the queer community and has a huge global reach in it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the presentation and lecture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alderman for Culture Eva Oosters will present the Belle van Zuylenring to Ocean Vuong on 27 September. The presentation will take place at TivoliVredenburg in a programme starting at 20:00. After reading the award report, Ocean Vuong will deliver his Belle van Zuylen lecture. Afterwards, he will be interviewed by Roos van Rijswijk. Ticket sales for this programme start today, 13 August, via ilfu.com<\/a>. Visitors to the programme will receive a special issue with the text of the lecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Belle van Zuylenring<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since 2019, the Belle van Zuylenring has been awarded during ILFU to international writers whose work reflects strongly on social themes. Previously, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Margaret Atwood, Elena Ferrante and Svetlana Alexijevich received the ring, which is named after the internationally renowned Utrecht-based writer Belle van Zuylen (1740 - 1805), who placed a strong emphasis on equality and emancipation in her work. Her reputation as feminist-avant-la-lettre and fighter for freedom was nuanced in 2021 by the publication on Utrecht's slavery past that also examined how Belle van Zuylen, who never explicitly spoke out against slavery, related to her family's colonial fortune. The Belle van Zuylenring is an initiative of ILFU and is awarded in cooperation with the municipality of Utrecht. The award committee consists of Pete Wu (writer and journalist), Harminke Medendorp (ILFU Supervisory Board) and Mirjam van Hengel (ILFU programming).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belle van Zuylen lecture by Ocean Vuong<\/a>
<\/strong>Saturday 27 September 2025
Hall open: 19:15, start: 20:00
admission: \u20ac 18.50 or \u20ac 14.80 for students, under-25s and U-pas pass holders
Instagram Vuong<\/a>
Instagram ILFU<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

ILFU 2025: 20 September to 4 October<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Belle van Zuylen lecture is part of ILFU literature festival, which this year takes place from 20 September to 4 October. ILFU<\/a>\u00a0is an international festival for all disciplines of literary culture. The opening weekend with Boekfest, the NK Poetry Slam and the Utrecht Book Market will be followed by two more weeks including Book Talks with international writers, the festival weekend Exploring Stories on literature & society, the Young Adult Festival YALFU and the 42ste<\/sup>\u00a0Night of Poetry. Throughout the year, you can take writing and literature courses at the\u00a0ILFU Academy\u00a0<\/a>and performances and get to know new writers on the online ILFU Daily.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trots en verheugd zijn we: we mogen schrijver en dichter Ocean Vuong ontvangen op ILFU 2025. De Vietnamees-Amerikaanse Vuong krijgt dit jaar de Belle van Zuylenring uitgereikt, een internationale ereprijs voor een schrijversoeuvre met een grote maatschappelijke betrokkenheid. Vuong zal ook de bijbehorende Belle van Zuylenlezing uitspreken. Ocean Vuong is een sterauteur wiens werk een […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":98210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","wpai_meta_description":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,4763,11917],"tags":[8274,657],"class_list":["post-98209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws","category-literatuur-2","category-persberichten","tag-ilfu","tag-utrecht"],"views":739,"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ocean-vuong-door-Tom-Hines.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94630,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2024\/07\/c-c-s-cronestipendia-voor-dieuwertje-mertens-willemijn-tillmans-en-vivian-de-gier\/","url_meta":{"origin":98209,"position":0},"title":"C.C.S Cronestipendia for Dieuwertje Mertens, Willemijn Tillmans and Vivian de Gier","author":"een van onze leden","date":"2 July 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexijevich will be present during the International Literature Festival Utrecht to receive the Belle van Zuylenring 2024 and deliver the accompanying Belle van Zuylen lecture. Awarding Belle van Zuylenring 2024 During the ILFU International Literature Festival Utrecht (21 September to 5 October), the...","rel":"","context":"In "LITERAIR"","block_context":{"text":"LITERAIR","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/literatuur-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/40405d37-5971-0f9f-26e7-fdc32f1247c6.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/40405d37-5971-0f9f-26e7-fdc32f1247c6.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/40405d37-5971-0f9f-26e7-fdc32f1247c6.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71022,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2021\/08\/elena-ferrante-geeft-belle-van-zuylenlezing-op-het-ilfu-italiaanse-bestsellerauteur-ontvangt-belle-van-zuylenring-van-de-gemeente-utrecht\/","url_meta":{"origin":98209,"position":1},"title":"Elena Ferrante gives Belle van Zuylen lecture at ILFU - Italian bestselling author receives Belle van Zuylen ring from Utrecht municipality","author":"een van onze leden","date":"31 August 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On Thursday 23 September, Italian writer Elena Ferrante will deliver the thirteenth Belle van Zuylen lecture at the ILFU International Literature Festival Utrecht. She will also receive the Belle van Zuylenring, an international honorary award of the ILFU in cooperation with the municipality of Utrecht. Elena Ferrante is the author of, among others, the...","rel":"","context":"In "Alleen voor leden"","block_context":{"text":"Alleen voor leden","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/service\/members-only\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/elena.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/elena.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/elena.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/elena.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/elena.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/elena.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71188,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2021\/09\/olivia-colman-olga-zuiderhoek-en-anna-bonaiuto-lezen-belle-van-zuylenlezing-van-elena-ferrante-openingsavond-literair-festival-ilfu-in-het-teken-van-vrijheid-van-vrouwen\/","url_meta":{"origin":98209,"position":2},"title":"Olivia Colman, Olga Zuiderhoek and Anna Bonaiuto read Elena Ferrante's Belle van Zuylen lecture - Opening night literary festival ILFU dedicated to women's freedom","author":"Wijbrand Schaap","date":"22 September 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Belle van Zuylen lecture at this year's ILFU literature festival will be written by Italian success author Elena Ferrante and spoken in three languages by Anna Bonaiuto, Olivia Colman and Olga Zuiderhoek. Ferrante herself never appears in public and has kept her true identity a secret for 30 years. Her reading is...","rel":"","context":"In "ACTUEEL"","block_context":{"text":"ACTUEEL","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/nieuws\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/aj-OC47i5wt9uDfBqK36Wnie9RJriQ6VEv4Wc9KOKgjO9cjKK1QNwmEnNjcVe2zvmHlNTj3Ml_FkBsNWKNqUR3qAFSVrtbEBvfi2tux2ujIPA4zdi1G5Y5azrYPUyroIjPmLWpZ8=s0","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/aj-OC47i5wt9uDfBqK36Wnie9RJriQ6VEv4Wc9KOKgjO9cjKK1QNwmEnNjcVe2zvmHlNTj3Ml_FkBsNWKNqUR3qAFSVrtbEBvfi2tux2ujIPA4zdi1G5Y5azrYPUyroIjPmLWpZ8=s0 1x, https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/aj-OC47i5wt9uDfBqK36Wnie9RJriQ6VEv4Wc9KOKgjO9cjKK1QNwmEnNjcVe2zvmHlNTj3Ml_FkBsNWKNqUR3qAFSVrtbEBvfi2tux2ujIPA4zdi1G5Y5azrYPUyroIjPmLWpZ8=s0 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":89457,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2023\/02\/margaret-atwood-komt-in-de-boekenweek-naar-utrecht\/","url_meta":{"origin":98209,"position":3},"title":"Margaret Atwood comes to Utrecht during book week","author":"een van onze leden","date":"9 February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Margaret Atwood, the success author of The Handmaid's Tale, among others, is coming to Utrecht on the last day of book week, Sunday 19 March 2023, for an exclusive performance at ILFU in TivoliVredenburg's pop venue Ronda. There, she will talk to Janine Abbring about her new book Old Babes in...","rel":"","context":"In "LITERAIR"","block_context":{"text":"LITERAIR","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/literatuur-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover van Besjes in het Bos door Margaret Atwood","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/24e156ce-9f62-f6a6-a6a8-679d75180beb.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/24e156ce-9f62-f6a6-a6a8-679d75180beb.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/24e156ce-9f62-f6a6-a6a8-679d75180beb.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":94700,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2024\/07\/ticketverkoop-voor-alle-programmas-van-ilfu-2024-gestart\/","url_meta":{"origin":98209,"position":4},"title":"Ticket sales for all ILFU 2024 programmes launched","author":"een van onze leden","date":"9 July 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"New names confirmed: including David Nicholls, Tommy Orange, Maggie Stiefvater, Teun van de Keuken and Carolina Trujillo. David Nicholls - photo: Sophia Spring | Tommy Orange - photo: Elena SeibertMaggie Stiefvater - photo: Stephen Voss | Teun van de Keuken - photo: Keke KeukelaarCarolina Trujillo - photo: NRC| Rachel Kushner...","rel":"","context":"In "LITERAIR"","block_context":{"text":"LITERAIR","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/literatuur-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0ff4ce6f-325f-e66a-c8e3-bf541fc8c924.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0ff4ce6f-325f-e66a-c8e3-bf541fc8c924.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0ff4ce6f-325f-e66a-c8e3-bf541fc8c924.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0ff4ce6f-325f-e66a-c8e3-bf541fc8c924.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0ff4ce6f-325f-e66a-c8e3-bf541fc8c924.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0ff4ce6f-325f-e66a-c8e3-bf541fc8c924.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83570,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2022\/06\/ilfu-in-het-teken-van-fictie-bij-de-feiten\/","url_meta":{"origin":98209,"position":5},"title":"ILFU on the theme of fiction to the facts","author":"een van onze leden","date":"8 June 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This year's International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU) will take place from 23 September to 8 October, under the motto 'fiction to the facts'. The theme ties in with the online platform ILFU launched in April, for which 856 of the targeted 1,000 members have now joined. The festival...","rel":"","context":"In "LITERAIR"","block_context":{"text":"LITERAIR","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/literatuur-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4bda61cd-dd9b-3c65-952c-5b384cf2d53d.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4bda61cd-dd9b-3c65-952c-5b384cf2d53d.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4bda61cd-dd9b-3c65-952c-5b384cf2d53d.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4bda61cd-dd9b-3c65-952c-5b384cf2d53d.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4bda61cd-dd9b-3c65-952c-5b384cf2d53d.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4bda61cd-dd9b-3c65-952c-5b384cf2d53d.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3yKke-py1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98209"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98212,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98209\/revisions\/98212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}