Luc Coorevits - Behoud de Begeerte

is director of Behoud de Begeerte, the Flemish Arts Centre for Literature in Antwerp. For 30 years he has organized literary evenings, events and tours, and promoted Dutch-language literature abroad. He considers the Saint Amour tours through the Netherlands and Flanders the highlight of his career. He also organized the first big Behout de Begeerte happening at the Brussels Palace of Fine Arts in 1988 and in the late 1990s. He started out in Leuven at a time when literary performance barely existed, let alone literary festivals. He'd like to keep going for another 30 years: "When we started out, the field was empty. Now, to continue the metaphor, all the fields have been planted. We must conquer new land, not rest on our laurels. We still have 30 exciting years ahead." This year the book Behoud de Begeerte, een literaire geschiedenis 1984-2014 (Behoud de Begeerte: A literary history 1984-2014) was published, whose 352 pages document Coorevits' life's work. On behalf of Behoud de Begeerte he will accept the G.H. 's-Gravensande Prize for exceptional literary merit at the festival.