Book of My Life: Simon(e) van Saarloos in conversation with Sophia Blyden

About Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi.

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Information

Date and time Friday 23 January 2026 21:10 tot 21:30 uur
Location Filmhuis - Studio A
Price 15,- (up to 30 years or Ooievaarspas)
25,- (Early Bird, up to 26 December, after 35,-)
32,50 (DenHaagPas).

Writers tell us about their favourite book: the book that inspires or touches them, that set their artistic, moral or intellectual compass. In short, the book they would recommend to everyone. Interview: Sophia Blyden.

Simon(e) van Saarloos chose as favourite book Freshwater (2018), debut novel by Nigerian writer Akwaeke Emezi. It tells the semi-autobiographical story of the protagonist, known to the reader as 'The Ada'. The main narratorial voice of the novel is ogbanje, deities from Igbo religion, that occupy the Ada, and manifests in multiple distinct and characterised personalities, both helpful and antagonistic.

Line-up

Sophia Blyden

(The Netherlands, 1993) is a writer, poet, curator at Oerol and Mensen Zeggen Dingen, and editor of literary magazine Tirade. Her prose and poetry explore themes such as loneliness, power relationships, and her Caribbean roots. She has presented her poetry at a variety of Dutch literary events and publications. In her debut collection Dobberen (2024), the development from girl to woman is central to various storylines. How much control do you have over your body, boundaries and future?

Go to the website of Sophia Blyden
Instagram: @mrspillybean
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Simon(e) van Saarloos

is a writer, artistic collaborator and curator. They are the author of Against Ageism. A Queer Manifesto (2023); Take ‘Em Down. Scattered Monuments and Queer Forgetting (2021) and Playing Monogamy (2019) as well as several books in Dutch: Herdenken herdacht (2019); Enz. Het Wildersproces (2018); the novel De vrouw die (2016); the collection of columns Ik deug / deug niet ( 2015) and Het monogame drama (2015). . Van Saarloos works as an independent curator of public programming and artistic collaborations. A current PhD candidate in Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley, they are interested in Black feminist engagements with quantum physics and focused on the rhetorical (im)possibility of existence without defense. Van Saarloos is currently writing a new book for AK Press, titled Trans Despair: Staying Unrelated and Insecure.

Go the website of Simon(e) van Saarloos
Instagram: @svansaarloos
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