The Voice of the City - Very Short Stories

Students of the John Dewey College in The Hague recited their Very Short Story, illustrated live by Matthijs Sluiter.

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Information

Date and time Friday 23 January 2026 20:15 tot 21:15 uur
Location Theater aan het Spui - foyer
Price 15,- (up to 30 years or Ooievaarspas)
25,- (Early Bird, up to 26 December, after 35,-)
32,50 (DenHaagPas).

Students from John Dewey College and Edith Stein College in The Hague bring The Voice of the City to life with their stories. They drew inspiration from writing workshops at school and a walk through The Hague, guided by Diann van Faassen. While they read their stories on the foyer stage, graphic designer Matthijs Sluiter illustrated a word or sentence from their stories on a projection screen, creating a unique interaction between words and images. Because, as one student put it: ‘The city is all of us. It's not about where you come from, it's about where we are now.’

Line-up

Diann van Faassen

(The Netherlands) is a poet. writing teacher, city guide and programme maker from The Hague. She gives poetry and performance workshops at schools and cultural organisations. Diann's work has been included in various anthologies and often has a link to the city of The Hague. In the time that remains, she takes you as a city guide on a poetic tour of The Hague, providing the most beautiful spots with surprising stories. For the Writers Unlimited, she guides pupils from schools in The Hague at the educational initiative De Stem van de Stad (The Voice of the City). Diann walks with pupils through The Hague and tells stories. She inspires them to write a Very Short Story about their vision of and connection with the city. Diann then introduces the pupils at their performance in the festival.

Instagram @diannvanfaassen
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Matthijs Sluiter

is a graphic designer. As Studio Het Mes, he designs identities, websites, books and logos for cultural and knowledge organisations. He is also an editor at typography website Fonts In Use, writes about design for Fontstand News and collects and shares type specimens on Mastodon. During the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival in The Hague, he will be subtitling the readings of Stem van de Stad (Voice of the City), the programme in which schoolchildren recite their Very Short Stories, with words and images in the foyer of Theater aan het Spui on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Go to the website of Studio Het Mes
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