Chris Keulemans
(Tunisia, 1960) is a writer, essayist, traveller and popular panel moderator. He has published fiction and non-fiction; was the director of the debating platform and venue De Balie; and was founder of the literary bookshop Perdu and the cultural centre De Tolhuistuin (all in Amsterdam). He performed with Enkidu Khaled in their jointly created documentary play Bagdad. Due to his curiosity about how artists recreate their cities after a crisis, he travelled to Sarajevo, Beirut, Tirana, Algiers, New York, Kiev, Jakarta and Qamishlo. At the invitation of PAX, he wrote Srebrenica & PAX 1995-2020, an overview of 25 years of support to the Association of Women of Srebrenica by the IKV and PAX in response to the genocide in Bosnia. In 2021 he published Gastvrijheid (Hospitality), in which he explores the art of hospitality through a mix of travel stories, observations, memories and imagery.
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Archive available for: Chris Keulemans
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A Book to Call Home with Roanne van Voorst: 'Wintering' by Katherine May
Following up on the festival theme Whose House is This?, in A Book to Come Home to we asked one festival author the following question: which book brought you home? The answers could go in all directions. Perhaps the author chose a book that describes a house that feels like his/her own home, or a place where he/she wishes to live. But it could also be a book whose style of writing or manner of thinking makes the author feel at home. Or it could be the relief of finally reading a story in which the protagonist reflects his/her appearance. The program was a peek into the bookshelves as well as the soul of each author.
Chris Keulemans interviewed Roanne van Voorst, who chose and spoke about Wintering by Katherine May. -
A Book to Call Home with Aafke Romeijn
Following up on the festival theme Whose House is This?, in A Book to Come Home to we asked one festival author the following question: which book brought you home? The answers could go in all directions. Perhaps the author chose a book that describes a house that feels like his/her own home, or a place where he/she wishes to live. But it could also be a book whose style of writing or manner of thinking makes the author feel at home. Or it could be the relief of finally reading a story in which the protagonist reflects his/her appearance. The program was a peek into the bookshelves as well as the soul of each author.
Chris Keulemans interviewed Aafke Romeijn. -
A Book to Call Home, with Sayonara Stutgard and Chris Keulemans
Following up on the festival theme Whose House is This?, in A Book to Come Home to we asked one festival author the following question: which book brought you home? The answers could go in all directions. Perhaps the author chose a book that describes a house that feels like his/her own home, or a place where he/she wishes to live. But it could also be a book whose style of writing or manner of thinking makes the author feel at home. Or it could be the relief of finally reading a story in which the protagonist reflects his/her appearance. The program was a peek into the bookshelves as well as the soul of each author.
Sayonara spoke about Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Chris about Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. -
A Book to Call Home with Agustina Bazterrica
A Book to Call Home - Chris Keulemans interviewed Agustina Bazterrica
Following up on the festival theme Whose House is This?, in A Book to Come Home to we asked one festival author the following question: which book brought you home? The answers could go in all directions. Perhaps the author chose a book that describes a house that feels like his/her own home, or a place where he/she wishes to live. But it could also be a book whose style of writing or manner of thinking makes the author feel at home. Or it could be the relief of finally reading a story in which the protagonist reflects his/her appearance. The program was a peek into the bookshelves as well as the soul of each author.
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A Book to Call Home with Müesser Yeniay
Following up on the festival theme Whose House is This?, in A Book to Come Home to we asked one festival author the following question: which book brought you home? The answers could go in all directions. Perhaps the author chose a book that describes a house that feels like his/her own home, or a place where he/she wishes to live. But it could also be a book whose style of writing or manner of thinking makes the author feel at home. Or it could be the relief of finally reading a story in which the protagonist reflects his/her appearance. The program was a peek into the bookshelves as well as the soul of each author.
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Chris Keulemans - gastvrijheid
With: Canan Marasligil, Chris Keulemans, Mira Feticu
We cordially invited you to discuss hospitality and the 12 rules from his eponymous book with Chris Keulemans yourself this December afternoon. We were curious what your definition of hospitality is and enjoyed to exchange thoughts about this in Studio B.
Dutch spoken.
Event curated by Fleur Jeras (Writers Unlimited)
Books for sale courtesy of De Vries Van Stockum Books
Please note!- It is mandatory to show an identity card and a corona admission ticket at the entrance.
- The corona admission ticket is mandatory for adults and children older than 13 years.
- There is a maximum occupancy in Studio B, Central Library.
- When entering the Central Library, wearing a face mask is mandatory. This can be taken off again when you take your seat in the venue.
- In the event of cancellation due to corona complaints, we return the purchase amount.
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Tout-monde - #BackToEarth
With: Amahl Raphael Khouri, Annemarie Estor, Chris Keulemans, Nisrine Mbarki, Shishani, Sulaiman Addonia, Vamba Sherif
The image that we have of our world is purely human: a human-centred picture. It's up to us to give non-humans a voice and a stage. In this program created by Nisrine Mbarki, we give the floor to the non-human elements of our world. It was an existentially poetic evening in which the world was experienced from a different, more complete, perspective.
4:36 - Shishani (Netherlands), song performance I.
10:24 - Vamba Sherif (Netherlands), interview.
24:44 - Shishani, song performance II.
28:40 - Sulaiman Addonia (Belgium), video reading.
35:57 - Annemarie Estor (Belgium), video reading.
43:43 - Amahl Raphael Khouri (Egypt), video reading.
49:58 - Amahl Raphael Khouri / Sulaiman Addonia, interview.
1:12:53 - Vamba Sherif, interview.
1:18:12 - Shishani, song performance II.The term Tout-monde (whole-world), coined by the Caribbean poet and philosopher Édouard Glissant (1928-2011) advocates the use of language and poetry as a tool of resistance. We can look at the world from the point of view of other people, animals, plants and even objects by identifying with them. In the Netherlands, writer Eva Meijer calls on philosophers, writers and artists to get to work on this.
We discussed this theme with writer and journalist Vamba Sherif who always explores the history of his family in North and West Africa, irrevocably linked to the African earth. In his novel Het land van de vaders (The land of the Fathers) he tells about his native country Liberia, where the religion of nature was adhered to by praying to trees, rocks and rivers.
We asked three guests to give a voice to beloved non-humans who, in their view, should have one. These include the Eritrean-Ethiopian author Sulaiman Addonia; the Belgian writer and poet Annemarie Estor and the transgender Jordanian playwright living and working in Berlin and Cairo, Amahl Raphael Khouri.
In their works the search for an individual, free voice plays an important role. They are especially adept at taking on alternative voices that lack the usual perspectives on the world and are therefore of great added value.
The authors' readings of their stories were filmed on location, in their own habitat by respectively Ahmed El Saaty (Khouri), Shalan Alhamwy (Addonia) en Nils van der Linden (Estor). Afterwards, writer and journalist Chris Keulemans lead a live conversation with Addonia and Khouri to reflect on what issues the assignment raised.
Shishani brings worlds together with an earthly and powerful voice and was therefore the singer-songwriter par excellence to engage us with the non-human.
Read here the contributions written for this programme on request of the Winternachten international literature festival The Hague:
(Find the Dutch-language versions here/Lees hier de Nederlandstalige versies)
Learn more here:
Read and watch on here:Sulaiman Addonia
Facebook
'Murder, migration and mother love, the making of the novelist Sulaiman Addonia, interview, The Guardian, 2019Annemarie Estor
websiteChris Keulemans
Facebook
Video: Chris Keulemans hosts an interview with authors Rosabelle Illes (Aruba) and Antoine de Kom, Winternachten festival 2020Amahl Raphael Khouri
Video: conversation with Amahl Raphael Khouri; host: Alice Guthrie, Arts Canteen, July 2020Nisrine Mbarki
Facebook
Video, from 58'40'': recitation by Nisrine Mbarki in Fatena's Poëziësalon, December 2020Vamba Sherif
websiteShishani
website
YouTube-channel Shishani -
#BacktoEarth: Tout-monde (Whole World)
With: Amahl Raphael Khouri, Annemarie Estor, Chris Keulemans, Nisrine Mbarki, Shishani, Sulaiman Addonia, Vamba Sherif
The image we have of our world is purely human, making it human-centric. It's up to us to offer non-humans a voice and a stage. This program created by Nisrine Mbarki gave the floor to the non-human elements of our world. It was an existentially poetic evening to experience the world from a different, more holistic, perspective.
The term Tout-monde (whole world), coined by the Caribbean poet and philosopher Édouard Glissant (1928-2011), advocates the use of language and poetry as a tool of resistance. We can see the world from the point of view of other people, animals, plants and even objects by identifying with them. In the Netherlands, writer Eva Meijer calls on philosophers, writers and artists to get to work on this.
We discussed this theme with writer and journalist Vamba Sherif, who is continually seeking the history of his family in North and West Africa, irrevocably linked to the African earth. In his novel Het land van de vaders (The Land of the Fathers) he tells about his native country of Liberia, where since time immemorial a religion of nature gave worship to trees, rocks and rivers.
We asked three authors to give a voice to beloved non-humans. These were the Eritrean-Ethiopian author Sulaiman Addonia; the Belgian essayist and poet Annemarie Estor; and the Jordanian transgender playwright living and working in Berlin and Cairo, Amahl Raphael Khouri. In their works, the search for an individual, free voice plays an important role. All three are especially adept at taking on alternative voices lacking in the usual perspectives on the world, and therefore of great value.
The authors read their resulting stories on locaion, in their own habitat, and were filmed by Ahmed El Saaty (Khouri), Shalan Alhamwy (Addonia) en Nils van der Linden (Estor). Afterwards, writer and journalist Chris Keulemans led a live conversation with Addonia and Khouri to reflect on what thoughts the assignment raised.
With an earthy and powerful voice, Shishani brought disparate worlds together and was thereby the ideal singer-songwriter to engage us with the non-human.
Read the pieces commissioned for this program by the Winternachten International Literature Festival The Hague here:
(Find the Dutch-language versions here/Lees hier de Nederlandstalige versies)
More background:Sulaiman Addonia
Facebook
'Murder, Migration and Mother Love, the Making of the Novelist Sulaiman Addonia, interview, The Guardian, 2019Annemarie Estor
websiteChris Keulemans
Facebook
Video: Chris Keulemans interviews authors Rosabelle Illes (Aruba) and Antoine de Kom (Surinam), Winternachten Festival 2020Amahl Raphael Khouri
Video: conversation with Amahl Raphael Khouri; host: Alice Guthrie, Arts Canteen, July 2020Nisrine Mbarki
Facebook
Video, as of 58'40'': performance by Nisrine Mbarki in Fatena's Poëziësalon, December 2020Vamba Sherif
websiteShishani
website
YouTube-channel Shishani -
Indonesia: History is an Always-Broken Promise
Writers from Indonesia and The Netherlands look at the history and the way former colonizers are viewed now. Chris Keulemans talks with them about how this influences their work and invites them to read from their work.
Besides being a famous poet, Goenawan Mohamad is also a journalist, essayist, editor and columnist. He contributed to the formation of the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia. He participated in many ways in the struggle against Suharto's regime. In 1995, he was a guest writer at the inaugural Writers Unlimited festival and has returned several times since to The Hague to take part again.
Angelina Enny is a writer, actor and theatre director. Her story debut, Nokturnal Melankolia, was adapted for the stage. In 2019 she collaborated with Dutch writer and musician Robin Block on a volume of poetry, In Between, Di Antara, in which they explore their personal stories, (family) memories and dreams, as well as their shared (Indonesian) history. Enny says: "For me, historical events consist of personal stories. Stories of people whose chronicles we have forgotten. That is specifically why we need to tell them."
The grandparents of poet. musician and theatre maker Robin Block fled the Dutch East Indies in 1949. They crossed the ocean to build a new life in the Netherlands, a country of which they were official citizens, but where they had never set foot and which did not provide a warm welcome.
Tip: Angelina Enny and Goenawan Mohamad read from their own work at Opening Night - A Free Mind on Wednesday, 15 January. Robin Block performs together with poet Ellen Deckwitz in 'Indische roots in poëzie en muziek' in Biblotheek Nieuw Waldeck on Friday evening 17 January.
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I Have No Other Country than this Country
Connectedness with the fatherland, the struggle with inequality, motherhood, womanhood and aging. Are these themes from the versatile work of Antjie Krog also shared by her younger colleague Jolyn Phillips? Did Krog pave the way for a new generation? What does Phillips carry on and what does she leave behind? In a conversation with Chris Keulemans, Krog and Phillips take up their differences and similarities and lay out the future of Afrikaans-language literature.
Krog is an author of poetry collections, children's poetry, prose and plays. She has also translated books from Dutch and English into Afrikaans. In the Netherlands, she is known for her impressive recitations during Poetry International, the Night of Poetry and Winternachten festival.
Phillips is working on a PhD in Creative Writing. She has published short stories and poems. In 2016 she had a successful debut with her English-language stories, Tjieng Tjang Tjerries, which she adapted for the stage, including music. In 2017 she followed that up with a volume of poetry in Afrikaans, Radbraak.
Tip: Antjie Krog also appears at the Winternachten New Year's Concert on Sunday afternoon, 19 January in the Zuiderstrand Theatre: a sparkling matinee of music, poetry and spoken word with Wende, Fresku, Ellen ten Damme, Ramsey Nasr and others.
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Poetry Unlimited: Surinam and Aruba
The Dutch-Surinamese poet Antoine de Kom and Rosabelle Illes from Aruba have a conversation with Chris Keulemans about their work and how roots influence it. Both also read from their own work.
Antoine de Kom is of Dutch-Surinamese background and the grandson of Anton de Kom, the Surinamese nationalist and resistance fighter. De Kom spent a great deal of his youth in Surinam. His first two poetry collections reflect that time: Tropen (Tropics, 1991) and De kilte in Brasilia (The Cold in Brasilia, 1995). The volumes Zebrahoeven (Zebra Hooves, 2001) and Chocoladetranen (Chocolate Tears, 2004) followed. De Kom was nominated for the C. Buddingh Prize and the Ida Gerhardt Poetry Prize, and his latest collection, Ritmisch zonder string (Rhythmic without String, 2013) won the VSB Poetry Prize.
Rosabelle Illes debuted in 2005 with her poetry collection Beyond Insanity. In 2010 she published Spiel di mi Alma, a poetry collection in her mother tongue of Papiamento that reveals a world of contradictions to the reader. Her third book, Title (2016), is a collection of stories, poems and thoughts. On the stage, Illes transforms into a true performer of her poems, carrying away her audience in a stream of words, movement and meaning.
Tip: Rosabelle Illes also appears at Opening Night - A Free Mind on 15 January at Theater aan het Spui, during Worden Worden Zinnen - the Writers Unlimited edition on 16 January at Paard, and with Cynthia McLeod on Saturday, 18 January at the Schilderswijk Library.
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Ian Buruma's Choice
With: Chris Keulemans, Ian Buruma
Ian Buruma is without doubt one of the most well-known writers and thinkers of our time. You had the unique chance to get to know him better on the basis of his literary taste. We asked him to speak to you about his favourite fiction or non fiction - no doubt a difficult task for a writer, essayist and critic who during three decades reviewed many books for among others The New York Review of Books. Buruma chose An Area of Darkness (1984) by V.S. Naipaul; Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929) by Alfred Döblin and Naomi (1924) by Tanizaki Junichiro. In a conversation with writer and programmer Chris Keulemans, he talked about his literary choices. The audience was welcome to join in with questions.
Organised in collaboration with BOZAR. -
Books Unlimited: Ayelet Gundar-Goshen & Gioconda Belli
Get to know international literary stars and their recent books. Expect to hear about their motivation to write, the creation of their characters and the worldwide success of their books. Writer and essayist Chris Keulemans talked with Ayelet Gundar-Goschen (Israel) about her second novel Waking Lions and with Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua) about her novel El país de las mujeres (The Land of the Women).
After her debut, One Night, Markovitch, Gundar-Goshen builds up the suspense in her second novel, Waking Lions, which is about a surgeon who must live with the consequences of a car accident. Belli made her international breakthrough with The Inhabited Woman; in 2012 she published The Land of the Women, about a South-American country that since two years is governed solely by women. -
Frank Westerman meets Mohsin Hamid
With: Chris Keulemans, Frank Westerman, Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid's novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) is educational: it shows how hurtful our way of doing things can seem to an outsider. And how the sheer power of the West - apart from the question of whether it is justified - creates much bad blood among people who want to take part in it with their talent and intellect, but who continue to feel shut out. This was written by Leonie Breebaart in Trouw newspaper in a discussion of Hamid's bestseller.
Now, one decade later, Mohsin Hamid had a conversation with journalist and writer Frank Westerman. The latter takes his readers back - among others in Srebrenica, the Blackest Scenario and especially in A Word, a Word - to terrorist acts from the recent past.
Which are the right words and deeds to win the battle of ideas with the fundamentalists? The conversation was hosted by Chris Keulemans.
Right after the performance, Mohsin Hamid and Frank Westerman were at Van Stockum Bookshop in the foyer for a booksigning session. -
Science is Just a Matter of Opinion
With: Chris Keulemans, Frank Westerman, Geert Munnichs, Katinka Baehr, Roel Coutinho
Productiegegevens Watch the video-registration of this programme. A discussion between Roel Coutinho (virologist) and Maarten Keulemans (head of the science department of De Volkskrant newspaper) on criticism on scientists.
Moderated by Katinka Baehr. In Dutch. -
Burger King & Citizenship
Since the crisis there has been a lot of talk about consumer confidence. But what about 'citizen confidence'? The 21st century citizen seems to be adrift. He feels powerless, unheard and misunderstood. The expressions of discontent, the analyses of the causes and the attempts at a solution are endless: From Occupy to the Tea Party. In Burger King & Citizenship a debate on the citizen in the present democracy. Does the notion of 'citizen' still exist or has democracy slowly turned into a plutocracy acting as democracy? Who possesses the power and the laws: the citizen or the banks? Tonight the citizens speak, in the greenhouse in front of the theatre. You can watch and listen outside.
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Wintercafé 4: Rules for Radicals 2.0
Nowadays, where does an angry artist leave his rage and criticism? In 'Rules for Radicals' we search for a pragmatic manual for the making of harmful literature, street noise and bombs for the national canon. Which are the new strategies for today's artists? In this programme we propose a new form of radicalism. The artist should penetrate the system as a sheep in wolves' clothes in order to eat the codes and replace them with others. No overt opposition, but infiltration. The good example: The Yes Men, with their 'identity correction'. The Yes Men disguise themselves as big criminals with the objective to humiliate them publicly. And who are these criminals? CEOs and representatives of big companies who put profit above everything else. In Dutch. See also the movie that is shown in advance of this programme: The Yes Men Fix the World. In English (Dutch subtitles).
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Colonial history of the East and West
Frank Martinus Arion (1936, Curacao) en Eka Kurniawan (1975, Indonesia) met each other last summer during the Winternachten tour of Indonesia. Despite different generations and continents they found in each other a common interest, that of colonial history. Chaired by Chris Keulemans, they talk about the way they give the history a place in their work by using fact and fiction in a playful, ironic way. Frank Martinus Arion reads from his new novel De deserteurs (The deserters), about the struggle against slavery. Eka Kurniawan acquaints us with his historical novel Cantik itu luka (The wounded beauty), a story that takes place in the declining days of the Dutch East Indies and up to the recent past of Indonesia. English spoken.
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Candid Indonesian
In her sensational debut novel Ode aan Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch ( Ode to Leopold von Sacher-Masoch) (2002), about sadomasochism and transsexualism, Muslima Dinar Rahayu discovers "a surrealistic view on life and fate, mixed with the delusions, dreams and experiences of the characters". In his short stories writer and columnist A.S. Laksana lives on the fringes of society, together with vagrant childeren, glue sniffers and prostitutes. Two young Indonesian writers discuss with Chris Keulemans their innovative and candid style of writing. English spoken.
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Poetry from Indonesia and Malaysia
Malay and Bahasa Indonesian are closely related languages. In recent years writers and poets from both countries have worked with one another regularly. For instance the Javanese poet Agus Sarjono and his Malayan colleague Eddin Khoo. They will discuss this relationship and read from their work, together with the well known Indonesian Sutarji Calzoum Bachri. In his innovative poems Sutarji 'liberates' the words from their original meaning. Last October he stole the show with his impressive poetry recital during the Winternachten tour in South Africa.
English spoken -
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Idealism, commitment and literature in Indonesia
Two writers who through their work want to make a conscious contribution towards a new future for Indonesia. The young Molukkan writer Nukila Amal reads from her much praised debute novel Cala Ibi: The main character in the story enters into a dialogue with her mirror image; this a somewhat uncommon literary form in Indonesia. Nukila Amal writes in a very direct open language about her Molukkan past and the future, about dreams and reality, about spirituality and religion and about the difficult relationship between man and woman. Acep Zamzam Noor is one of the most important critical poets of Indonesia. Without raising his voice and with wonderful metaphors, he is able to convey the consequences of the present unrest in Indonesia on the population. Amal and Zamzam Noor will talk with Chris Keulemans. English language.
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Putu Wijaya: the oracle of Asia
Putu Wijaya is one of the most important prose writers in Indonesia. For Winternachten this excellent performer wrote a 'Prophecy' concerning the future of Asia. He will discuss this with Chris Keulemans. After that he will read various extracts from his work. Wijaya in his work shocks and desorientates the reader. He places, quote: 'mental time bombs' in ordinary people's lives. English language.
