Kader Abdolah & Funda Müjde: Literary Contraband

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Just picture this amazing duo: writer Kader Abdolah and cabaret artist, actress and columnist Funda Müjde. Both personally recommend their favourite book. They tell you specially why you should read it. They use their most beautiful words to describe that one book, a book from their native country that has not yet been translated into Dutch, but which should have been translated ages ago.

Kader Abdolah made a plea for the epic poem Shahnameh (Book of Kings) written between 977 and 1010 by Persian poet Ferdowsi.

Funda Müjde gave praise to the historical novel Şu Çılgın Türkler (These Crazy Turks) by Turkish dramaturgue and novelist Turgut Özakman (1930-2013).

In this program, Writers Unlimited shines a spotlight on books that remain undiscovered in the Netherlands, great books that have not yet found their way to the Netherlands or the rest of the world. The writers take up the challenge to convince you - and hopefully a publisher - that their chosen books must be translated.

It was twice the treat, because Abdolah and Müjde know how to seduce, entertain and enthuse an audience. A unique pair. It became a marvellous and compelling Saturday afternoon at the  festival in The Hague. 

Right after the performance, Funda Müjde en Kader Abdolah were at the Van Stockum Bookshop in the lobby for a booksigning session.

Source archive materials: Collection EYE Filmmuseum

Information

Date and time Saturday 20 January 2018 from 14:30 to 15:30 hrs
Location Theater aan het Spui - Zaal 1

Line-up

Kader Abdolah

(1954, Iran) is the pen name of Hossein Sadjadi Ghaemmaghami Farahani. Since his debut De Adelaars (The Eagles) in 1993 he has navigated between two worlds, the Netherlands and the country of his birth. Abdolah grew up in a harsh, Islamic region. Since he was twelve he read western literature and caught the scent of freedom. While studying physics in Teheran, he joined a secret leftwing party. In 1980 he published two collections of short stories clandestinely under the name Kader Abdolah. In 1988 he fled Iran and ended up in the Netherlands where he has since published a large body of works consisting of novels, short story collections and collected columns, published under the pen name Mirza in de Volkskrant. In Papegaai vloog over de IJssel (Parrot flew over the IJssel, 2014) four migrant families build a new existence in typically Dutch villages along the river; in Salam Europa (2016) the Shah of Persia travels through Europe late in the 19th century, accompanied by a large following of bickering courtiers.
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Funda Müjde

(Turkey, 1961) is an actress, comedienne, moderator, hostess and columnist. She is well-known due to her leading role in the film Julia’s Secret and roles in a number opf popular Dutch TV series. From 1999 to 2012 she wrote a weekly column in national Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, providing a humourous and critical view of Dutch intercultural society. A selection of her columns was published in 2004, titled Algemeen Beschaafd Turks (Common Turkish Pronunciation). Following a car accident in 2007, she has had to use a wheelchair. Müjde writes, acts and presents as she is, with a personal perspective on political and societal themes, sometimes provocative and always with humour. In 2016 she returned to the theatre with Funda Draait Door, in which she tells about her life's journey.
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