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Maurits de Bruijn

Maurits de Bruijn - foto Joris Casaer
Maurits de Bruijn - foto Joris Casaer

(The Netherlands, 1984) wrote the novels Broer (Brother) and De achterkant van de zon (The Back of the Sun). In 2020, he published his non-fiction debut Ook mijn Holocaust (Also My Holocaust) and in 2022, he compiled the collection Op de sofa with vulnerable and moving stories by thirteen writers about their experiences with therapy. He is also editor of art magazine Mister Motley. His novel Man maakt stuk (Man Smashes, 2024) is a daring story about taking up space, masculinity and queerness in society and in art: artist David has to live with a group of men who gather under his window night after night. The group deprives him of his peace, but he also takes something back - with disastrous consequences.

(WU2025)

Archive available for: Maurits de Bruijn

  • Writers Unlimited 2025 – Saturday Night Unlimited

    Remembrance under Fire

    At a time when war is raging in Europe, in the Middle East and on the African continent, the question arises: what is the role of remembrance today? For many Dutch people, the Second World War is central to the national culture of remembrance. But what does this emphasis on one war mean for our image of the Netherlands?

    Herdenken onder vuur (Remembering under Fire) explored how the emphasis on the Second World War in Dutch remembrance affects our national self-image and what role it plays in the recognition of other forms of violence, such as those in the former colonies and forms of oppression today.

    The National Commemoration on 15 August 1945, the day commemorating the end of the Japanese occupation in Indonesia, is used as a case study. How does this commemoration relate to the broader historiography of the Netherlands and which voices are given space here or not?

    With literary contributions by Sinan Çankaya, Maurits de Bruijn and Lara Nuberg, Herdenken onder vuur offered a reflection on the thesis of how commemoration is not only about the past, but also about the choices we make today. In conversation led by Nancy Jouwe, we explored how war, colonialism and identity continue to shape our national self-image and collective memory. Dutch spoken.

    Remembrance under Fire was curated for Writers Unlimited Festival 2025 by Lara Nuberg.