The Dutch Literature Festival of the North “Het Grote Gebeuren” will take place in the Forum on the 10th of February, and features an English-language programme.
This festival revolves around poetry, literature, theatre, and dance and will include talks and interviews with interesting writers and poets. Even though this festival is usually in Dutch, this year they have an array of programmes for Internationals in English.
This year, the festival also has the “language no problem” programme, which is fully done in English. There are interviews with Ronelda S. Kamfer, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and Robert Menasse.
Kamfer is one of the leading authors in South Africa. Her poems concern the past and present of the multiracial ethnic communities in South Africa, with gripping realist themes.
Tchaikovsky is best known for his novel “Children of Time” which is considered one of the best science fiction stories of this time, winning an Arthur C. Clarke award in 2016. The following novels of the trilogy went on to win the Hugo Award for best series.
Menasse’s novel “The Capital” is not a satire, though it has been called that often, and focusses on harsh realities. His newest novel “The Expansion” will also be discussed, as it won the European Book Prize in 2023.
Lastly, there will be a multifaceted dance performance called Peach Season inspired by ASMR therapy. This will include dance, poetry, and composition to convey a physical, visual, and auditory representation of a love relationship.
There is, of course, also a Dutch programme, although some of its events are centred around English literature and literary themes including some poetry in English. For example, the programme “Comeback of the Gothic Novel” for everyone who speaks Dutch (or is learning) but is interested in English literature.
If you’re only interested in attending their English-spoken “language no problem” events, there is a special ticket price for their international audience, and everyone else only interested in this, which is €17.50 (only including the English-spoken programme). Tickets can be bought here by choosing a ‘normal’ ticket and using code INT2024HGG at checkout.
TIME TABLE
Saturday 10th February at the Forum
Ronelda S. Kamfer | 3 West | 19.00 – 1945
Robert Menasse | Camera 2 | 20.15 – 21.00
Adrian Tchaikovsky | Camera 5 | 21.30- 22.15
Peach Season | Wonderland | 22.45 – 23.30
Additionally, for everyone fascinated by English literature or not able to attend the festival, the website of Noord Woord regularly has events scheduled for internationals in their calendar. All events that fall under the filter “language no problem” are fully in English.
Upcoming for February is a lecture on the 6th of February about “The Political Life of Johnny Cash” by Michael Stewart Foley in the Academy Building and on the 8th of February ‘The Poetry Stanza’ in De Graanrepubliek.
