Stories and poetry from Surinam and Aruba with Cynthia McLeod and Rosabelle Illes

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Tip: Cynthia McLeod and Rosabelle Illes will both also appear at the festive Opening Night - A Free Mind on Wednesday, 15 January in Theater aan het Spui; at the Winternachten edition of Woorden Worden Zinnen on Thursday, 16 January at Paard; at Saturday Night Unlimited on 18 January in Theater aan het Spui and Filmhuis Den Haag; and at the Dakota's Winternachten Story Festival at the Dakota Theater on Saturday 18 January and Sunday, 19 January.

The Surinamese writer Cynthia McLeod (author of The Cost of Sugar) and the Aruban poet and performer Rosabelle Illes are visiting the Schilderswijk Library on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Writes Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague. They read from their work, tell stories about Surinam and Aruba and answer questions from the public.

McLeod writes historical novels and young adult books that take place in Surinam. As a result of researching her books, she has become an expert in the country's turbulent history, and enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. She is a true storyteller who is passionate about bringing Surinamese history to life.

Poet and writer Illes lives and works in Aruba. She writes in English and in her native tongue of Papiamento, for example in her poetry collection Spiel di mi Alma (Mirror of My Soul). On stage, Illes transforms into a true performer of her poems, sweeping up the public in a stream of words, movement and meaning. 

The Winternachten International Literary Festival The Hague is celebrating its 25th anniversary! From 15 to 19 January 2020 it takes place in theatres, libraries and schools throughout The Hague: at Theater aan het Spui, Filmhuis Den Haag, the Institute of Social Studies, the Zuiderstrand Theatre and Paard, as well as the Dakota Theatre and the Schilderswijk, Ypenburg and Nieuw Waldeck libraries. More than 100 local and international writers, poets and spoken-word artists will appear for recitations, prose, poetry, storytelling, spoken word, author interviews, topical discussions, films and music.

Information

Date and time Saturday 18 January 2020 from 14:00 to 15:15 hrs
Location Bibliotheek Schilderswijk

Line-up

Rosabelle Illes

(Aruba, 1987) is an artist, writer, and performer. She has authored three collections of poetry and short stories and co-authored the multilingual children’s book Hearty. Her work has been published in international journals, and she has performed at literary festivals worldwide, including Colombia, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and New York City. Rosabelle’s art often explores personal enigmas, with meditation revealing insights that manifest as poetry. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Leiden University and is an assistant professor at the University of Aruba. Her upcoming book, Penmanship (2025), blends her passions for psychology and poetry, celebrating the written word in its purest form. Featuring handwritten pieces, the book sparks a conversation about the scientifically proven benefits of handwriting and showcases how poetry can transcend traditional confines of the page to be heard, seen, and worn.
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Cynthia Mc Leod

(Suriname, 1936) made her writer's debut with Hoe duur was de suiker? (How Costly Was the Sugar?, 1987), the novel that made her the most famous Surinamese writer overnight and was adapted for film in 2013. She was the first to describe the history, the slaving past and the colonization of her country from a Surinamese perspective. As an expert in the field, she lectures about the history of slavery at US and Canadian universities and organizes educational field and city trips. She has written historic novels, including De Vrije Negerin Elisabeth, gevangene van kleur (The Free Negress Elizabeth, Prisoner of Colour, 1992), as well as studies, children's books and children's musicals. Her No kwik in het bos (No Mercury in the Forest, 2017) is a YA novel about a ten-year-old girl and the dangers of mercury in the gold-mining process. McLeod is a daughter of Johan Ferrier, the first president of Suriname.
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Tuncay Çinibulak

(Turkey, 1970) has been editor-in-chief since 2005 of the Dutch/Turkish business & cultural magazine TULPIA. Previously Çinibulak worked as a journalist for some time with several Dutch television companies and daily newspapers as well as writing columns for Metro and the Amsterdamse Stadsblad. Çinibulak is also a poet. His short stries and poems have been collected in Een hand uit de nacht (A Hand from the Night, 2002) and in Het land in mij. Nieuwe Verhalen van Jonge Schrijvers op de Grens van Twee Werelden (The Country Within. New Short Stories by Young Writers on the border of Two Worlds, 1996). He has also published his poems in literary magazines, Rood Koper, among others. Çinibulak has read a great deal from his own work, particularly during remembrance day 2002. Çinibulak has lived in the Netherlands since 1980.
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