Antjie Krog
(South Africa, 1952) is a poet, writer, academic and a cherished reciter. Her book Country of My Skull (2000, adapted for film in 2004) is a personal account of the proceedings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She published her autobiographical memoirs as A Change of Tongue (2003). Krog has won many prizes, including the Hertzog prize in South Africa and the 2018 Gouden Ganzenveer in the Netherlands. An anthology of her poetry was published in Dutch in 2010, titled Hoe zeg je dat (How Do You Say That), and Begging to be Black, the sequel to Country of My Skull and A Change of Tongue.
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Winternachten New Year's Concert
With: Antjie Krog, Asmaa Azaizeh, Ellen ten Damme, Francis Broekhuijsen, Fresku, Gypsy Academy, Juggling Tango, Noa Eyl, Ramsey Nasr, Thorwald Jørgensen, Timon Krause, Tobit en Jasmijn, Wende
Music, poetry and spoken word come together in this one-of-a-kind concert with appearances by Wende, Ellen ten Damme, Fresku, and poets Ramsey Nasr, Antjie Krog en Asmaa Azaizeh. They sing to, question, taste and release freedom. This sparkling matinee on Sunday afternoon, 19 January 2020, in The Hague's Zuiderstrand Theatre also includes performances by theremin player Thorwald Jørgensen, mentalist Timon Krause, violinist Noa Eyl, the Gypsy Academy, Juggling Tango and acrobatic duo Tobit and Jasmijn. The matinee is hosted by Francis Broekhuijsen.
Singer-songwriter, theatre professional, chansonnière, actress, performer, producer and house artist at the Royal Carré Theatre: Wende does it all. After the successful tour of her show MENS (HUMAN) and her own Kaleidoscope Festival,she has been working on a show in London with the Royal Court Theatre. She also plays the role of Connie Palmen in the film adaptation of the book IM. For the New Year's Concert she will perform songs from her existing repertoire and new works from her collaboration with artists such as Marieke Lucas Rijneveld.
Rapper, cabaret artist and actor Fresku is a multi-talent to be proud of! After his self-titled debut album, he was proclaimed the best hip hop artist of the Netherlands. Since then he has released two further successful albums, Maskerade (Masquerade) and Nooit meer terug (Never to Return). He is currently touring his second theatre show, Voordat het te laat is (Before it's Too Late). His trademarks are humour, sincerity and storytelling - a perfect match for this concert.
Sensitive, daring, funny and without limits: Ellen ten Damme feels at home at pop festivals as well as on theatre stages. The energetic singer, musician, writer and actress has been touring her sense-stimulating show Casablanca this season. Luckily she will also make time for a compelling appearance at the Winternachten New Year's Concert. Accompanied on piano, she interprets songs and chansons of a literary bent with her exceptional voice.
The Winternachten New Year's Concert is an initiative of Writers Unlimited in partnership with the Zuiderstrand Theatre. The concert forms the grand finale of the 25th Winternachten International Literature Festival Den Haag. From 15 to 19 January 2020, more than 100 local and international writers, poets and artists will appear at theatres, libraries and schools throughout The Hague.
This program is made possible with contributions from the City of The Hague, the Dutch Literary Foundation, the VSB Fund, Dioraphte, the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund, the 1818 Fund and the Lira Fund.
Entry tickets to the New Year's Concert include coat check, pre-show coffee/tea and a post-show drink.
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Opening Night
With: Adriaan van Dis, Angelina Enny, Antjie Krog, Cynthia Mc Leod, Ellen Deckwitz, Goenawan Mohamad, Hassnae Bouazza, Jolyn Phillips, Karin Amatmoekrim, Nelleke Noordervliet, Petina Gappah, Reggie Baay, Rosabelle Illes, Shailesh Bahoran, Sigrid Kaag, Simon(e) van Saarloos, Ton van de Langkruis, Vamba Sherif
A fantastic line-up of fifteen Dutch and international authors provided a preview of the festival with their new poetry and prose, mixed with dance performances by Shailesh Bahoran. This festive evening celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Winternachten festival with the presentation of the (Dutch language) anniversary anthology De verovering van Jupiter (Over de dekolonisatie van de geest) (Conquering Jupiter: On decolonising the mind). The festival was opened by Sigrid Kaag, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
At the behest of Writers Unlimited, all contributors wrote a short essay, story or poem for the anthology to reflect on the festival theme. It is a unique collection of 28 wonderful pieces of writing edited by Toef Jaeger and published by Jurgen Maas. It is available at regular bookstores and online.
In the same venue in which the first Indonesian Winternacht (forerunner of Winternachten Festival) took place in 1995 - the Theater aan het Spui - on this jubilee opening night we proudly presented (inter)national writers that have developed a special bond with our festival and its audience. These included: Goenawan Mohamad (Indonesia) and Nelleke Noordervliet - who both performed at the first Winternacht in 1995 -, Adriaan van Dis, Antjie Krog (South Africa), Reggie Baay, Manon Uphoff, Vamba Sherif and Cynthia McLeod (Suriname). Tip: be sure to look up these writers in our online video and sound archive!
Writers Unlimited will always continue to seek out talent, and in 25 years has presented many debuting local and foreign writers. How wonderful, then, to welcome on this evening - once again, or for the first time: Angelina Enny (Indonesia), Rosabelle Illes (Aruba), Jolyn Phillips (South Africa) and, from the Netherlands, Karin Amatmoekrim, Simon(e) van Saarloos and Ellen Deckwitz. We awaited their appearances and recitations with bated breath.
Theatre maker, choreographer and hiphop innovator Shailesh Bahoran performed parts of his dance solo Heritage that was inspired by his Hindostani background; a short video of The Theatre of Wrong Decisions was shown and the Hesce Mourits Quartet of the Royal Conservatory The Hague also performed.
The Opening Night was hosted by Hassnae Bouazza.
The performance of Manon Uphoff, announced for this programme, has been canceled due to illness.
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Letters from Overseas
In 1795, the once-enslaved but later freed Wilhelmina Kelderman sent a heartbreaking letter from Paramaribo to her former master. The letter never arrived, as it was on a ship hijacked by the English, ended up in an archive, and was only opened two centuries later.
Writers Unlimited festival asked nine authors to write a letter to someone in a (former) colony, inspired by Wilhelmina's entreaty, and to present it at this event. They will recite them in their mother tongue or preferred language of writing; English or Dutch translations will be simultaneously projected.
Participants are Antjie Krog (South Africa), Alfred Birney, Reggie Baay, Ellen Deckwitz, Rosabelle Illes (Aruba), Jolyn Phillips (South Africa), Jasper Albinus, poet Angelina Enny (Indonesia) and poet, musician and theatre maker Robin Block.
Tip: Antjie Krog, Reggie Baay, Ellen Deckwitz and Jolyn Phillips will also read from their contributions to the 25th anniversary Winternachten festival anthology during the Opening Night - A Free Mind on Wednesday, 15 January at Theater aan het Spui.
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I Have No Other Country than this Country
Connectedness with the fatherland, the struggle with inequality, motherhood, womanhood and aging. Are these themes from the versatile work of Antjie Krog also shared by her younger colleague Jolyn Phillips? Did Krog pave the way for a new generation? What does Phillips carry on and what does she leave behind? In a conversation with Chris Keulemans, Krog and Phillips take up their differences and similarities and lay out the future of Afrikaans-language literature.
Krog is an author of poetry collections, children's poetry, prose and plays. She has also translated books from Dutch and English into Afrikaans. In the Netherlands, she is known for her impressive recitations during Poetry International, the Night of Poetry and Winternachten festival.
Phillips is working on a PhD in Creative Writing. She has published short stories and poems. In 2016 she had a successful debut with her English-language stories, Tjieng Tjang Tjerries, which she adapted for the stage, including music. In 2017 she followed that up with a volume of poetry in Afrikaans, Radbraak.
Tip: Antjie Krog also appears at the Winternachten New Year's Concert on Sunday afternoon, 19 January in the Zuiderstrand Theatre: a sparkling matinee of music, poetry and spoken word with Wende, Fresku, Ellen ten Damme, Ramsey Nasr and others.
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Fifty Ways to Free Your Language
How do writers relate to decolonizing language and literature, not only in their subject matter but also in the form of their poetry and stories?
During the Friday Night Unlimited program, several events will focus on the decolonization of the mind. How free is our mind, what does freedom mean, and are we truly free, or caught in the framework of our culture, society and history? This theme is partly based on the essay collection Decolonizing the Mind by the Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o, in which he discusses colonized language and how its influence is still notable. Since he believes that language plays a constructive role in culture, history and identity, he argues for "linguistic decolonization".
This first program will be opened with a speech by writer Mukoma Wa Ngugi (USA, and son of Ngugi wa Thiong'o); then Simone Zeefuik discusses this subject with him and with poet Simone Atangana Bekone (Netherlands), poet and writer Antjie Krog (South Africa) and writer Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe).
Tip: Petina Gappah also appears at Opening Night - A Free Mind on Wednesday, 15 January, at Theater aan het Spui; Antjie Krog appears at Saturday Night Unlimited, 18 January, and during the Winternachten New Year's Concert on Sunday afternoon, 19 January, at the Zuiderstrand Theatre.
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Antjie Krog & Ellen Deckwitz: Dutch East-Indies and South-Afrka, history in poems
With: Antjie Krog, Ellen Deckwitz, John Jansen van Galen
How can literature serve a greater understanding of history? Ellen Deckwitz (1982) wanted to write a poetry collection about her grandmother's life during the dying days of the Dutch East Indies – and decided she could not do so without traveling to Indonesia herself. The resulting De Steen Vreest Mij (2011) earned her the C. Buddingh' Prize for best poetry debut. One of the most important poets of her generation, she is a welcome guest at literary venues. Deckwitz writes about history in poems that render its events palpable.
Over her storied career, South African writer and journalist Antjie Krog (1952) has been deliberating on the question whether the power of words can stand up to the power of actions. Writing in Afrikaans and English, many of Krog's books and poetry collections have been published or translated into English, including Country of my Skull, A Change of Tongue, and Lady Anne: A Chronicle in Verse.
After the end of apartheid, Krog started writing about the possibility of reconciliation with a great sense of faith. She believed it to possible as long as everybody's stories would be heard, yet now she encounters the limitations of language more and more, in both society as well as her own work. Krog's work has won many awards, such as South Africa's Hertzog Prize and, in the Netherlands, the Gouden Ganzeveer, which she accepted in 2018.On Friday 15 February, Ellen Deckwitz and Antjie Krog took the B-Unlimited stage to discuss what literature can contribute to historiography. Their moderator is John Jansen van Galen, who has made great contributions to the history of decolonization. (Dutch /Afrikaans spoken.)
This program was curated by Toef Jaeger (Writers Unlimited).
Book sales at the venue by De Vries Van Stockum. -
Writers Fest 2014
With: Aad Meinderts, Alfred Schaffer, Antjie Krog, Bettine Vriesekoop, Elsbeth Etty, Francis Broekhuijsen, Geert Mak, Huub van der Lubbe, Jaap Goedegebuure, Jan Paul Schutten, Marjolein de Jong, Micha Hamel, Oek de Jong, Ronald Snijders, Tijs Goldschmidt, Tiziano Perez, Tom Lanoye
The Writers' Fest is the festive conclusion of the festival with a programme full of writers and other guests. The line-up consists of among others the Dutch poet Alfred Schaffer, Geert Mak, the South African poet Antjie Krog, Tom Lanoye, literary critic Elsbeth Etty, flute player Ronald Snijders and singer/poet Huub van der Lubbe.
The Writers' Fest includes the award winning ceremony of the Jan Campert Prizes, the literary prizes of the City of The Hague, with the presentation of the Constantijn Huygens Oeuvre Prize. The winner is Tom Lanoye. The South African writer Antjie Krog will do a eulogy on him and we'll hear Lanoye's words of thanks.
The F. Bordewijk Prize goes to Pier en Oceaan (Jetty and Ocean) by Oek de Jong. The novel will be praised by Jaap Goedegebuure. Composer and poet Micha Hamel is recipient of the Jan Campert Prize for his book of poetry Bewegend doel (Moving Target). Bettine Vriesekoop will recommend the book to us. The Nynke van Hichtum Prize for children's literature goes to Het raadsel van alles wat leeft (The Riddle of Everything Alive) by Jan Paul Schutten. Writer and biologist Tijs Goldschmidt will sing the praise of that book.
A programme in co-operation with the Dutch Foundation for Literature and the Jan Campert Foundation. The earlier announced performance of Anne Vegter has been cancelled for health reasons.
In Dutch.
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World Stories in Theater Dakota - I Did It My Way
With: Antjie Krog, Kees Biekart, Linda Christanty, Neco Novellas, Rodaan Al Galidi
Nothing better than telling each other stories. Stories form afar and closer to home told by students of the Institute of Social Studies and the Haagse Hogeschool, by the audience, and by foreign writers. I did it my way is the subject of the stories: about an important moment of choice in one's life.
Students of the ISS, mostly coming from southern countries, are guided in telling their stories by drama experts of De Kosmonaut, who give them workshops in the months preceding the festival. Students of the Haagse Hogeschool write their stories together with drama teacher Martine Zeeman.
Three writers, guests of the festival, also participate: poet Antjie Krog (South Africa), poet Rodaan Al Galidi (Iraq/the Netherlands) and writer Linda Christanty (Indonesia).The programme is bilingual: Dutch and English. The storytellers are accompanied by the music of the Mozambican singer/guitarist Neco Novellas. Do you have a five-minute story that fits in? There's no need to register. Just shout! -
My farther-farthest child
The much-loved South African poet Antjie Krog introduces her son Andries Samuel, who with his much-praised poetry debut follows in her footsteps. Mother and son recite poems straight from the heart about family ties between parents and (grand)children; Wende set a poem specially written for this occasion by Antjie Krog and her son to music. She sings this new song for the first time tonight and also sings other songs. In English.
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Antjie Krog Sestig
With: Ad Zuiderent, Adriaan van Dis, Anne Vegter, Antjie Krog, Anton Korteweg, Bas Kwakman, Christine Otten, Hester Knibbe, Ineke Holzhaus, Jan Baeke, Jan Klug, Jan van der Haar, K. Michel, Liesbeth Lagemaat, Mark Boog, Peter Swanborn, Raj Mohan, Rob Schouten, Robert Dorsman, Rodaan Al Galidi, Tom Lanoye, Tsead Bruinja
Dutch poets honoured the South-African poet and writer Antjie Krog. She celebrated her 60th birthday in The Hague. A festive evening, where Antjie Krog presented the audience her favourite poems in Afrikaans. Writers Adriaan van Dis interviewed her on the position of the Afrikaans poet in South-Afrika. Numerous Dutch poets read their poems for Antjie.
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Writers Unlimited on Tour in Hatay - Siir Okuma/Poetry Reading
With: Antjie Krog, Ömer Erdem
Poetry readings of Antie Krog, Rodaan Al Galidi and the Turkish author Ömer Erdem.
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Writers Unlimited on Tour in Ankara
With: Adriaan van Dis, Antjie Krog, Aslı E. Perker, Ayşegül Çelik, Rodaan Al Galidi
Antjie Krog, Adriaan van Dis en Rodaan Al Galidi treden samen op met de Turkse auteur Ayşegül Çelik, met gespreksleider Aslı E. Perker.
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Writers On Tour in Istanbul - Remembrance of Places
With: Adriaan van Dis, Antjie Krog, Rodaan Al Galidi, Sadık Yalsızuçanlar
Adriaan van Dis, Antjie Krog en Rodaan Al Galidi and the Turkish author Sadik Yalsizuncanlar. Places have their own memories, they in their own right interact with the narrative and set the grounds for stories. But places are sometimes characters in fiction. In this event the authors will take on a reading and discussion about the remembrance of places and its interaction with the overall narrative structure in prose and poetry.
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Writers Unlimited on Tour in Istanbul - Unchartered Territories
With: Adriaan van Dis, Antjie Krog, Gülşah Elikbank, Ömer Erdem, Rodaan Al Galidi
Reading and discussion with Antjie Krog, Rodaan Al Galidi, Adriaan Van Dis, Ömer Erdem, Gülşah Elikbank. The authors will discuss the particularities of writing within the confines of an unfamiliar cultural and political environment. Uncharted territories of the "other"s state of mind are to be discovered in this multifaceted event where both poetry and prose will be taken on board.
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Writers Unlimited on Tour in Istanbul: Discussion
With: Adriaan van Dis, Antjie Krog, Aslı E. Perker, Rodaan Al Galidi
The three writers on tour for Writers Unlimited read from their work and discuss the festival theme 'Fear and the city', moderated by the Turkish writer Aslı E. Perker.
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Winternachten Lecture
With: Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Antjie Krog, Fouad Laroui, Mehmet Polat, Tarun Tejpal, Xue Xinran
The question seemed as simple as far-reaching: if you were to rewrite the rules of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, from a South African perspective, would the result resemble the original? Or would something completely different emerge?
The South African writer Antjie Krog took up the gauntlet and presents the result at the annual Winternachten Lecture. In her lecture it is clear from the outset that in the new text the original rules of the declaration are not quite recognizable. Indeed, no rules have been included at all. Why? Because, according to Krog, the Third World never comes up with rules. Rules are something for the First World. The Third World comes forward with suggestions. Or it burns. Because the First World always listens to fire.
For Krog suggestions suffice. Her declaration has two titles: The Universal Declaration of Interconnectedness and Universal Suggestions for Tolerance. Her lecture ends in two fundamental questions on tolerance and intolerance. The Indian writer Tarun Tejpal and the Chinese writer Xue Xinran try to answer from the perspective of their countries of origin. Both Tejpal and Xinran not only write fiction, but as journalists they contribute to the public debate in their country.Writer Fouad Laroui hosts the evening. The audience will be given the opportunity to react to both Krog and Xinran and Tejpal.
The lecture is in English. The Dutch translation is projected simultaneously. Visitors of the lecture will receive the full text in Dutch and English. -
Big Brother visiting
Christine Otten and Antjie Krog had disorder literally hovering on their doorstep. They discovered that independently of each other they had written books with an almost identical scene, a police raid on their homes. Both raids took place on wrongful suspicions of terrorist or terrorism related practices in the 1990s. The affair in Otten's novel goes back to a terrorist action by RARA in the Netherlands; in Krog's nonfiction book it's about an ANC murder in South Africa. In "Big Brother Visiting", Wim Brands asks both writers to compare their books and place them in time. Is it coincidental that they both write on how the personal life of their characters, and thereby there own freedom, is violated? Is it a coincidence that they write about these matters after 9/11?
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Zeeman's zealousness
On 27 July 2009 Michaël Zeeman died. He was only 50. His love of books and literature were unequalled. Books were his friends, his relatives, his loves. As a host Zeeman was attached to Winternachten for thirteen years. His death is not only a great loss for cultural life in the Netherlands, but for the festival as well. He leaves behind a gap which no-one can fill. But spiritually is he still with us. In Zeeman's Zealousness Bas Heijne talks to people from the world of the arts and politics about responsibility and inspiration; themes which were very dear to him. With poet/writer Antjie Krog, philosopher/writer Marjolijn Februari and foreign minister of state Frans Timmermans. Host: Bas Heijne. In Dutch
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VPRO's OVT Live from Winternachten
With: Adriaan van Dis, Ahmed Ziani, Antjie Krog, Asis Aynan, Geert Mak, Haytham Safia Qu4rtet, Mathijs Deen, Paul van der Gaag
The last of Winternachten 2008 can be heard in the Sunday morning Radio 1 programme OVT (Simple Past Tense), a live broadcast from The Hague.
In VPRO's OVT history and literature come together in conversations with Winternachten guests Antjie Krog from South Africa and the Berber poet Ahmed Ziani, and writer Geert Mak. The series 'In Europe', part of the programme, today focuses on the 1930s. Can the fear of those times be compared to that in our time? In Dutch -
Memory, speak
Three writers of international stature talk about the fear of forgetting the past and the task of the writer to recall that past. 'I am the Second World War', Mulisch once claimed about himself. In the work of Shafak and Krog national history also plays an important role. Interview by Rudi Wester. Partly in Dutch and in English.
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Universitas Indonesia - optreden voor studenten Nederlands
With: Antjie Krog, Ellen Ombre, Frank Martinus Arion, Ramsey Nasr
Als afsluiting van de tournee in Indonesië traden de vier schrijvers op voor studenten van de vakgroep Nederlands van de Universitas Indonesia, in Depok, bij Jakarta. De studenten hadden een programma voorbereid, waarbij ook zij literair werk voordroegen in het Nederlands en Afrikaans. Na hun optredens gingen de schrijvers in op vragen uit de zaal.
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Winternachten Overzee in het Erasmushuis
With: Antjie Krog, Ellen Ombre, Frank Martinus Arion, Ramsey Nasr, Richard Oh
Het laatste openbare optreden in deze tournee was in het Erasmushuis, het culturele centrum van de Nederlandse Ambassade in Jakarta. Hier traden alleen de vier voor Winternachten meereizende schrijvers op. Ze droegen voor uit hun werk en werden geïnterviewd door schrijver en uitgever Richard Oh. De schrijvers lazen hun gedichten en proza-fragmenten in hun eigen taal, terwijl de Indonesische vertaling simultaan werd geprojecteerd. De populaire muziekgroep Krakatau trad voorafgaand aan het programma en na de pauze op.
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Winternachten in Teater Utan Kayu - Jakarta (2)
With: Antjie Krog, Frank Martinus Arion, Ramsey Nasr
Op de tweede avond van het festival in Teater Utan Kayu traden Ramsey Nasr, Frank Martinus Arion en Antjie Krog op met het Royke Kaopaha Ensemble, Radhar Panca Dahana, Budi Darma, Arswendo Atmowiloto, de Turkse schrijfster Asli Erdogan, N. Riantiarno en de Amerikaanse auteur Robert Olen Butler.
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Discussion:
With: Antjie Krog
A debate with Antjie Krog and the Aceh poet Azhari about the South-African Truth and Reconciliation committee, and about the chances for Indonesia to install a similar committee for the struggle in Aceh and East-Timor, and the period of transition from the rule of Soekarno to Suharto. In 'The Country of My Skull' Antjie Krog wrote an impressive account on the South-African Truth and Reconciliation committe..
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Winternachten in Teater Utan Kayu - Jakarta (1)
With: Antjie Krog, Ellen Ombre
De tournee eindigde in Jakarta. Hier vond het driedaagse literatuurfestival plaats in Teater Utan Kayu, het theater van de culturele organisatie Komunitas Utan Kayu. Vanavond traden Ellen Ombre en Antjie Krog op met Afrizal Malna, Azhari, Hamsad Rangkuti, Gunawan Maryanto en de Australiërs Jan Cornall en Lauren Williams.
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Winternachten Overzee in Bandar Lampung - Sumatra
With: Antjie Krog, Ramsey Nasr
Na Bandung reisde het gezelschap naar Sumatra, naar de stad Bandar Lampung. Ook hier waren er optredens op twee avonden. Op deze avond traden Antjie Krog en Ramsey Nasr op met de Indonesiërs Isbedy Stiawan ZS, Dinar Rahayu, Marhalim Zaini, Shinta Febriany, Masnunah, de Turkse schrijfster Asli Erdogan en de Australische dichteres Lauren Williams.
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Winternachten Overzee in Bandung
With: Antjie Krog, Frank Martinus Arion, Ramsey Nasr
De tournee van Winternachten startte in Bandung, met optredens op twee avonden. Op deze eerste avond traden drie van de vier voor Winternachten meereizende schrijvers op. Andere optredenden waren de Indonesiërs Soni Farid Maulana, Nur Wahida Idris, A.S. Laksana, Kurnia Effendi, de Australische Jan Cornall en de KeTUK Group.
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Winternachten - Preview
With: Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Antjie Krog, Chirikure Chirikure, Denise Jannah, Lasana M. Sekou, Michaël Zeeman, Nelleke Noordervliet, Putu Wijaya, Robert Menasse, Syahrial & Grup, Tessa Leuwsha, Tom Gilling, Zakes Mda
Before Winternachten starts with its major programme, the journalist and literary critic Michaël Zeeman gives his view on the theme of this year's festival: future and ideals. After this, writer Nelleke Noordervliet presents a varied programme with writers, poets and music. Foreign authors present themselves with a short reading, as a preview on their performance in the coming weekend. With writers from Suriname, Saint Martin, South-Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, Austria, the USA and Indonesia, and music by the Sumatran group Syahrial & Grup and jazz singer Denise Jannah.
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VPRO - De Avonden, live radio from Winternachten
In the second hour of the live radio broadcast of VPRO'S De Avonden, presentator Wim Brands talks with amongst others the writers Antjie Krog, Wim Westerman and Henk van Woerden. The new book by Antjie Krog, Liederen van de Blauwkraanvogel (Songs of the Blue Crane), (published by Podium and Novib), will be presented during the programme.
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Opening: The Oracle of Africa
The South-African writer and jounalist Antjie Krog opened Winternachten with the first in a series of six Delphic sayings. Afterwards she talks with the Iranian/Dutch poet and scientist Afshin Ellian on the South-African Truth- and Reconciliation committee. Ellian recently obtained his doctorate on this very subject. Recovery, accommodate, adaptaton, reconciliaton and forgiveness. According to Krog reconciliation is part of a long African tradition. 'A thing like this could never happen in a muslim-country', states Ellian.
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Live Anthology: taboos of love and literature
With: Antjie Krog, Ayu Utami, Basil Appollis, Ernest Pépin, Fouad Laroui, Frank Martinus Arion, Gerrit Komrij, Manon Uphoff, Michaël Zeeman, Pauline Melville
'These are the same people who used to think that anything goes and everything should be allowed. Now they want to prohibit everything which they suspect might bring enjoyment to someone else' (Gerrit Komrij).
Maybe 'taboo' is the most culturally specific notion possible. In the Netherlands, taboos in love or literature seem out of date since the 1960s. But in South Africa, a novel about homosexuality comes as a shock, and a South African makes internationally controversial movies about power, love and violence. Cultures collide when talking about taboos, so this should be a great starting point for a discussion with a collection of internationally renowned authors. This afternoon, eight writers read their favorite fragments from world literature with the theme of the taboo. In the ensuing conversation, the boundaries of culture and religion become apparent. Dutch/English spoken. -
Sermonizing: Antjie Krog
South Africa and love. According to president Thabo M'Beki, AIDS has nothing to with sex, but everything with poverty. Free condoms were handed out, but the story goes they were all faulty due to the staple with which they were attached to the instructions, which were added in South Africa's 21 official languages. Antjie Krog is an author, poet and journalist. How about passion and love in her country? Listen to her sermon (Afrikaans spoken).
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The Language of Love
Antjie Krog and Kristien Hemmerechts are both masters in writing odes to loved ones. 'Liefste, jy mág nie doodgaan nie' (Dearest one, you can not die), Antjie Krog wrote in her collection Kleur komt nooit alleen nie (Color never comes alone). This book was launched in the Dutch translation at Winternachten. To keep the loved one alive, he is embalmed in language. The Flemish writer Kristien Hemmrechts also used this in her poetography Taal zonder mij (Language without me). Dutch/Afrikaans spoken.
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Winternachten Den Bosch
With: Annel de Noré, Antjie Krog, Ayu Utami, Ed van Eeden, Hagar Peeters
How do women write about love? Female writers from four continents spoke about the way they describe passion and love in their prose and poetry. "Love builds itself a Hell, in spite of Heaven.", writes Annel de Noré from Surinam. "An end to writing poetry on love for today", states poet Hagar Peeters, when writing threatens to replace love itself. An evening in Theater Bis in Den Bosch.
