Haagse literatuurprijzen: a festive programme celebrating The Hague's Literary Award winners

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The Winternachten festival 2023 opened with prose, poetry, spoken word, music and the ceremony of the literary prizes of the City of the The Hague. The prize winners Marion Bloem, Donald Niedekker, Dominique De Groen and Marjan Slob (respectively) received the Constantijn Huygens-, F. Bordewijk-, Jan Campert-, and J. Greshoff- prizes from Saskia Bruines, alderman of Finance, Culture and Economy of The Hague.

The prize winners were each of them be honoured with performances by  special guests, including research journalist and documentary filmmaker Sinan Can, poet Obe Alkema, The Hague student Jeremy Jordan Rosa and film and TV producer Kaja Wolffers (son of Marion Bloem).

The programme kicked off with the first official performance of Chelsy Valentina, the brand new and first Jonge Stadsdichter van Den Haag 2023 (Young City Poet of The Hague). Percussionist and handpan player Hashem Kabreet and Orchestre Partout gave music performances.

Farah Karimi, who chaired the Board of Writers Unlimited, and Aad Meinderts, director of the Literatuurmuseum spoke words of welcome. Additionally, the jubilee publication on the occasion of 75 years of The Hague literary prizes, was presented to the alderman.

Lobby programme with Amara van der Elst, Hasan Gök and the Jonge Stadsdichter
From 14:30 hours, preceding the award ceremony in Zaal 1, spoken word artist Hasan Gök presented from the lobby stage a short interview with Chelsey Valentina, the Jonge Stadsdichter (Young Civic Poet). Spoken word artist Amara van der Elst performed, and also Hasan Gök performed some of his poems, accompanied by Jina Sumedi on keyboard.

Bookstore De Vries van Stockum was present in the lobby with a stand offering books by participating authors of this programme, among others — including signing opportunties!

Haagse literatuurprijzen was curated by Jet Steinz for Literatuurmuseum/Writers Unlimited. Moderator was Hassnae Bouazza.

Information

Date and time Sunday 12 February 2023 from 14:30 to 17:00 hrs
Location Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 1
Price SOLD OUT

Line-up

Marion Bloem

(Netherlands, 1952) became well-known with her novels Geen gewoon Indisch meisje (No Ordinary Indonesian Girl, 1983) and Vaders van betekenis (Fathers of Significance, 1989), as well as the documentary Het land van mijn ouders (The Land of My Parents, 1983), in which the principal characters seek out their roots. Bloem is the daughter of Indonesian parents who, after Indonesian independence, migrated to the Netherlands. In 1993 she received the E. du Perron Award. Besides writing a large number of novels, short-story and poetry collections, and non-fiction,YA - a.o. Matabia (1981) about an Indonesian girl, published in Japanese and German, and many times awarded -  and children's books, she made film and TV productions such as the feature film Ver van familie (Far from Family, 2008) and the YA film De tovenaarsleerling (The Sorcerer's Apprentice, 1986) that won her a Cinekid Award. Her novel Een meisje van honderd (Girl of a Hundred Years, 2012) is a family story offering a brilliant overview of a century of Indonesian-Dutch history. Recent works include Haar goede hand (Her Good Hand, 2016) on her relationship with her mother, Een teken van leven (A Sign of Life, 2018) about mourning, and Indo (2020) on Indonesian history and Indonesian perceptions of identity. Her novel Meisjes uit het dorp (Village Girls) will be published January 2023. Bloem, who is also a clinical psychologist and visual artist besides being an author, received the 2022 Constantijn Huygens Prize for her entire oeuvre.
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Dominique De Groen

(Belgium, 1991) is a writer, poet and visual artist. Her work is characterised by a critical attitude towards globalisation and capitalism. For example, she drew inspiration for her debut Shop Girl (2017), in which she analyses the fast-fashion industry, from the time she worked at Primark, and the poems in Sticky Drama (2019) include as their subjects the depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution and global warming. Her fourth collection Slangen (Snakes, 2022), for which she won the 2022 Jan Campert Prize, questions, among other things, the still-prevailing belief in progress. She is currently working on Corpus Britney, a novel about capitalism, witchcraft and Britney Spears.
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Donald Niedekker

(Netherlands, 1963) is a poet and writer. He debuted as a novelist with Hier ben ik (Here I Am, 2002). This was followed by an oeuvre full of characters who find themselves somewhat in the shadows of society, such as a cloakroom manager in the theatre monologue De garderobier (The Cloakroom Manager, 2002), or a man who sharpens pencils at Ikea in the novella Zo zie je alles (That's How You See It All, 2019). Under the pseudonym Ellen Winkelbach he published Het moet wel beschaafd blijven (It's Supposed to Remain Civilized, 2008). His 2016 novel Oksana was nominated for the Fintro Literature Prize; in 2021, he received the Brussels VUB Luc Bucquoye Prize for idiosyncratic literature. His most recent novel Waarachtige beschrijvingen uit de permafrost (True Descriptions from the Permafrost, 2021) was shortlisted for the Boekenbon Literature Prize and won the 2022 F. Bordewijk Prize.
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Marjan Slob

(Netherlands, 1964) is a philosopher and essayist who writes about technology, democracy, animals and nature, and the influence of fantasy and imagination on behaviour, among other subjects. With Hersenbeest (Brain Beast, 2016), on the social and existential significance of neuroscience, she won the Socrates Wisselbeker for the most stimulating philosophy book of the year. For De lege hemel (Empty Sky, 2021), a philosophical essay on loneliness, self and self-image, masks, and your place on Earth, she won the 2022 J. Greshoff Prize.
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Saskia Bruines

(Netherlands, 1962) is The Hague's alderman for Finance, Culture and Economy. She studied social geography with a specialisation in historical geography at the University of Amsterdam and published the book Binnewaeters Gewelt, 450 jaar boezembeheer in Hollands Noorderkwartier. From 1998 to 2006, she was a member of the Amsterdam City Council and an Amsterdam alderman from 1999 to 2002. She then served as alderman of Leidschendam-Voorburg from 2012 to 2017 and as alderman of The Hague since 2017.
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Hasan Gök

is a poet, spoken word artist and host. From his emotional world, he shares, vulnerably and sincerely, a social message that is often invisible. Stories about a diversity of worlds that converge in his own life: son of a Turkish father and a Kurdish mother, raised in Dutch society, queer and Muslim, lover of both the spotlights of the stage and the silence of the night. Hasan knows how to turn the search for a place in society into words and performances that confront but also invite. He feels a need to connect people and therefore shares human feelings and experiences that are often recognisable and yet remain unexpressed with sincere, unabashed, poetic and intimate work.
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Hassnae Bouazza

(Morocco, 1973) is a journalist, columnist, translator, researcher and producer. She publishes in various media (including Dutch national daily newspaper NRC and women's magazine Linda); runs her own online magazine for culture lovers, Aicha Qandisha. She compiled a story collection about Arab women, Achter de sluier (Behind the Veil, 1999); 2013 saw the publication of her book Arabieren kijken (Looking at Arabs), about "ordinary" people in the Arab world. She made TV programs for various broadcasters, including the documentary series Seks en de Zonde (Sex and Sin). Together with Michelin-starred chef Soenil Bahadoer, she wrote the culinary books Spicy Chef (2020) and Streetfood (2022). She published two further books in 2022: Een koffer vol citroenen (A Suitcase Full of Lemons), a requiem for and portrait of her mother, and Arbeidsmigranten in Nederland (Migrant Labourers in the Netherlands).
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Obe Alkema

(Netherlands, 1993) is a poet, artist and critic for Dutch national daily newspaper NRC. His work has been published in various Dutch, Flemish and international magazines and platforms. In 2018, his C. Buddingh' Prize-nominated debut collection Obelisque was published, designed as a poetry glossy with alphabetically arranged poems and fashion photographs.
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Jina Sumedi

(Netherlands), composer, arranger and pianist, toured the world as a keyboard player with a number of bands. Together with Cees Koldijk, singer of the music group 4tuoze matroze, she composed the music of IJmuider Symfonie, performed in 2009 by a symphony orchestra, two choirs and soloists. She has also composed soundtracks for films (including Eddy Terstall's Simon and the short films De laatste rit and Missen by Jochem de Vries), as well as arrangements for many artists and music for theatre and CD projects.
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Amara van der Elst

(Netherlands, 2001) is a spoken word artist, lives in Rotterdam but her home is the stage. Amara heals, connects and broadens, through words, rhythm and movement. She brings fire to stages throughout the Netherlands and abroad. The Netherlands has already seen her shine twice on national TV where, among other things, she impressed with a performance on Remembrancy on Amsterdam's Dam Square. She runs her own spoken word writers' camp called Rhyme & Reason, holds the title of Education Innovation Talent of the Year and studies Creative writing at ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten.
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Kaja Wolffers

(Netherlands, 1973) is a film and television producer. He started as recording supervisor of Dutch soap operas, then directed many episodes of Onderweg naar morgen (Underway to Tomorrow) and Costa!, and was involved as a producer in various series. After several years as creative director of Nickelodeon, he became creative director of the media company NL Film. Since 2021, Wolffers has been Head of Content Acquisition Benelux at Amazon Prime Video.
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Sinan Can

(Netherlands, 1977) is a producer, investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker. Since 2011, Can has been making documentary series for BNNVARA. In Bloedbroeders (Blood Brothers) he investigates the Armenian genocide. In 2016, his triptych De Arabische Storm (The Arab Storm) about the consequences of the Arab Spring was released, as well as the series Onze missie in Afghanistan (Our Mission in Afghanistan). In 2017 he created the award-nominated diptych In het spoor van IS (Trail of IS) and in 2018 he portrayed the misery of jihadists' children in De verloren kinderen van het kalifaat (The Lost Children of the Caliphate). In 2022 the 4-part series Breuklijnen (Fault Lines) was broadcast, in which Can portrays problematic European neighbourhoods of Paris (Clichy), Brussels (Molenbeek), Stockholm (Rinkeby) and London (Tower Hamlets). January 2023 Dutch national TV network NPO1 broadcast Sinan op zoek naar het paradijs (Sinan's search for paradise), a four-part documentary series he made together with Thomas Blom. Besides his TV work, Sinan writes background stories and books to accompany his series (such as Bloedbroeders and De Arabische storm).
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LUWTEN

(Netherlands, 1989) is the stage name of singer-songwriter Tessa Douwstra. After playing in several bands, in 2017 she had a hit as LUWTEN with the eponymous album and the single Go Honey. Her second album Draft — about how to relate to the other, and how to allow it without losing yourself — won the 3voor12 Award for best Dutch album of the year in 2021.
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Jeremy Jordan Rosa

(Curaçao, 2006) is a student at The Hague's Maris College Belgian Park. 'Jack of all trades, master of some' is a description he finds applicable to himself: he has a great passion for aviation, enjoys being creative (currently mainly photography) and, since reading Donald Niedekker's novel Waarachtige beschrijvingen uit de permafrost (True Descriptions from the Permafrost), he also rediscovered his passion for reading.
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Hashem Kabreet

(Syria) is a percussionist, trainer and workshop leader. He plays various oriental and world percussion instruments (frame drum, darbouka, djembe, cajon, handpan) in bands such as Étoiles Electriques and HAN Here & Now, in a variety of musical styles. For organisations like Sounds of Change, Raw Resonance, Art Root Collective, Orchestre Partout and Fort van de Verbeelding, he leads music workshops and creative trainings.
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Orchestre Partout

Music is a language that connects, regardless of origin, culture and language. From this idea, Orchestre Partout started the first music workshop in asylum seekers' centre Alkmaar in 2010, and since then weekly music lessons and rehearsals have been organised in Dutch asylum seekers' centres. Orchestre Partout is a band and breeding ground with musicians from all over the world, combining music of all shapes and sizes into a diverse world repertoire: from electrifying Kurdish dances to Syrian ballads or funky Punjabi love songs.
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Farah Karimi

(Iran, 1960) is a member of the Senate of the Dutch Parliament (Eerste Kamer) since June 2019 for GroenLinks. From 2008 to 2018 she chaired the Executive Board of Oxfam Novib. Karimi is highly experienced in the field of international cooperation and human rights, and she is a strategic delevopment coach for leadership and organisational change. She came to Europe as a political refugee in 1983. She studied in the Netherlands and was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for GroenLinks (Green Left) from 1998 till 2006. In 2007 she helped to establish the Afghan parliament as a consultant with the UN branch UNDP. As an administrator, she was involved with the advisory board of the International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, among other projects. She chairs the Board of Stichting Writers Unlimited since 2018. Karimi has written thee books: Slagveld Afghanistan (Battlefield Afghanistan, 2006), with co-author Chris Keulemans Het geheim van het vuur (The Secret of Fire, 2007) and In naam van de vrijheid: hoe de wereld na 9/11 steeds onvrijer is geworden (In the name of freedom: how our world has become increasingly unfree after 9/11, 2021).
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Aad Meinderts

(1957) is director of the Literatuurmuseum in The Hague and chair of the Jan Campert Foundation. He studied Dutch language in Leiden and, as of 1982, worked for the organisation that looks after the national Dutch literary heritage (formerly the Letterkundig Museum). He organised exhibitions about writers such as Remco Campert, Miep Diekmann, and Cees Nooteboom. From 2002 to 2005 he was director of the Haags Historisch Museum/Museum de Gevangenpoort, and afterwards of Stichting Lezen. In 2009 he returned to the Literatuurmuseum as director. Meinderts has publications to his name on writers Anna Blaman, Emmy van Lokhorst and Sonja Witstein. He also wrote Een literaire roadtrip: in 30 dagen langs 100 schrijversgraven (2010), ‘Uit geil en bloed bestaat dit rotte leven!’: Max Kijzer (1893-1944) (2021) en In gekroonde stoeten (2022).
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Chelsy Valentina

(2008) is the first Jonge Stadsdichter (Young City Poet) of The Hague. Her winning poem Een reis door de stad waar mijn leven compleet voelt: Den Haag (A journey through the city where my life feels complete: The Hague) was the deciding factor during the final. Chelsy may call herself the Young City Poet of The Hague for a year.
The final of the school competition, an initiative of the City of The Hague, Bibliotheek Den Haag, Huis van Gedichten and Literatuurmuseum, took place during National Poetry Day in the Central Library. Finalists from eight schools in The Hague were allowed to recite their poem. Huis van Gedichten will support Chelsy in 2023 in her writing and performing skills.
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