Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer is Europe

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What is left of grande dame Europa? Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer takes to the couch in the role of this ailing part of the planet. Together with psychiatrist Damiaan Denys, he discusses the status of important themes such as migration, tourism and the environment, and looks into the future.

Via excerpts from his masterful novel Grand Hotel Europa, the Pfeijffer takes you on a journey through a once-grand Europe, now in decline and a shadow of itself. With intermezzos by violinist Noa Eyl, a virtuostic interpreter of classical music, klezmer and jazz.

After the performance, Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer and Damiaan Denys will be available in the foyer for a meet & greet, or for a booksinging.

This beloved and intriguing event debuted at preceding Writes Unlmited festivals returns, now as an independent evening program. The writer - a presumed specialist in bringing characters to life - lets psychiatrist Damiaan Denys accompany him into the world of his novel. The writer on the couch IS the novel or the character in this fascinating and unpredictable roleplay.

**** "Grand Hotel Europa doesn't shrink from anything, wants to impress and impresses indeed. Its big-bigger-biggest scope turns the novel into an amazing masterpiece. On top of this, it's a wonderful book that you read with an eagerness that becomes more and more feverish. Pfeijffer has caught the zeitgeist and served it up in irresistible fashion. He's written the novel of the year." NRC Handelsblad

"Grand Hotel Europa is not only an overwhelming reading experience, Pfeijffer also dishes up tons of food for thought. Who can match him in today's Dutch literary scene, with his enormous ability to light a fire under the zeitgeist and thumb his nose at all the decent, fussy novels full of first-world problems?" De Morgen

"You can easily call Grand Hotel Europa a pageturner. The most admirable aspect of the novel is Pfeijffer's fascination with his subject, and his engagement. Grand Hotel Europa is not only a consideration of our identity but also a contribution to its continuation." De Volkskrant

Information

Date and time Thursday 16 January 2020 from 20:15 to 21:45 hrs
Location Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 2

Line-up

Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer

(Netherlands, 1968) is a classicist and writer. He has more than 40 titles to his name, including poetry, novels, short stories, plays, scientific studies, translations and anthologies. His work has earned many nominations and prizes, including the 2014 Libris Literature Prize for his novel La Superba, an ode to the city of Genoa, where he lives and works. In 2016 he published Brieven uit Genua (Letters from Genoa), an autobiography in letter format and the counterpart to La Superba, which also discusses the publication of the novel. Grand Hotel Europa (2018), a book about love in times of mass tourism, nostalgia, European identity, and a part of the world that has become a museum, was nominated for the 2019 Libris Literature Prize and translated into 10 languages. Pfeijffer never eschews debate, expressing himself in essays, columns and TV programs.
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Damiaan Denys

(1965) is a prominent psychiatrist, neuroscientist, writer and theatre actor. Born in Flanders, he works and lives in The Netherlands. He studied philosophy and medicine in Belgium, graduated in psychiatry from Utrecht University, and worked as head of anxiety disorders of UMC Utrecht. He is a professor at the University of Amsterdam and department head of psychiatry at AMC Amsterdam. Denys developed Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a method to master compulsive thoughts. In his book Angstparadox (Anxiety Paradox, 2016) he states: "If there is a single word that holds the essence of the world in which we live now, of what guides us and of what holds us back, it is anxiety." Denys writes and acts in theatre monologues, among them Van angst naar vrijheid (From Anxiety to Freedom, 2016), which is "about the sense and nonsense of our contemporary culture of anxiety".
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Noa Eyl

(Netherlands, 1988) began playing violin at age 5 under Coosje Wijzenbeek, with whom he studied for 13 years. He attended the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and, together with the Giocondo Quartet, won first prize at the 2003 Princess Christina Competition and third prize at the International Charles Hennen Competition. As a soloist he won prizes at the Iordens Violin Days (in 2000 and 2002) and at the Princes Christina Competition (2006). Although there was every indication that Eyl would succeed in the world of classical music, he spent more of his school time in the jazz division. Eventually he ceased his studies at the conservatory, focused on gypsy music and became a popular player in this scene. Eyl also plays jazz and klezmer. He's is a virtuostic and sensitive violinist, and his lively style adds to the joy of watching him perform.
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