Jens Christian Grøndahl meets Gustaaf Peek: Love, Lust and Literature

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Two authors, one theme: the mystery of love and lust. Both their recent novels are as ambitious as they are inspired: Jernporten (Iron Gate) by Jens Christian Grøndahl and Godin, held (Goddess, Hero) by Gustaaf Peek. Both are passionate lovers of literature who are driven to share their love of literature with others. Together, they attempt to fathom the mystery of love and lust. Two authors in conversation about love – of women and of books. In English.

Jens Christian Grøndahl (Denmark, 1959) is one of the most successful contemporary authors. He has written a multitude of novels, essays, plays and radio scripts. His work has appeared in more than thirty countries and has been nominated for and won various literary awards. His new novel Jernporten is an ode to love. Grøndahl studied philosophy and lives in Copenhagen.

Gustaaf Peek (Haarlem, Netherlands, 1975) has written four novels. His major breakthrough came with his most recent book Godin, held. Apart from being an author, he is the editor of the Dutch literary magazine De Revisor. Peek read English Language and Literature at the University of Leiden and lives and works in Amsterdam.

This evening is organised by Writers Unlimited in cooperation with The Hague Public Library and J.M. Meulenhoff publishers. Language: English.

Information

Date and time Thursday 5 March 2015 from 20:30 to 22:00 hrs
Location Podium B - Centrale Bibliotheek Den Haag, Spui 68, 5e etage

Line-up

Jens Christian Grøndahl

(Denmark, 1959) is one of the most successful authors of the moment. He wrote numerous novels, essays, plays and radioplays. His work has been published in over thirty countries and was awarded national and international literary prizes. His new novel Portrait of a Man is an ode to love. He studied philosophy, and now lives in Kopenhagen.
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Gustaaf Peek

(The Netherlands, 1975) is a writer of novels, poems, stories, essays, and screenplays. His work is characterized by the compelling way in which he brings characters involved in historical injustices to life. His debut novel Armin (2008) is about children adrift after World War II. In Ik was Amerika (I Was America, 2010), a Dutch prisoner of war in World War II befriends a farm worker in a camp in the US. Decades later, he seeks him out again. Peek received the BNG Literature Prize and the F. Bordewijk Prize for this work. Godin, held (Goddess, Hero, 2014) is a candid novel about the mysterious and all-too-human nature of love. In his pamphlet Verzet! Pleidooi voor communisme (Resistance! A Plea for Communism, 2015), he undermines decades of capitalist indoctrination. His novel A.D. (2021) tells about the events and hardships aboard one of the first seaships in the 16th century to present-day Indonesia and the arrival there. In 2025, his poetry collection Orang/oetan was published.
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