Joris Luyendijk

(Amsterdam, 1971) travelled to Egypt at age 24 to do research among Egyptian contemporaries. That not only earned him a degree in religious anthropology, but also his debut, Een goede man slaat soms zijn vrouw (A Good Man Sometimes Hits his Wife). It was an instant success and Volkskrant and Radio 1 Journaal asked him to become a correspondent in the Arab World. Later he also worked for NRC Handelsblad and NOS. During his stay he wrote Een tipje van de sluier (A Corner of the Veil) and after his return to the Netherlands in 2003 Het zijn net mensen (People Like Us), on his experiences as a correspondent. Meanwhile Luyendijk has shifted his attention elsewhere: Dutch politics and sustainability. His latest book, Je hebt het niet van mij, maar Een maand aan het Binnenhof (Don't mention my name, but A Month in Parliament), caused a great deal of controversy in Dutch journalist circles. Joris Luyendijk took a closer look at the bell-jar world of Dutch politics. With some amazement he describes how close the link between journalists, lobbyists, public relations officials and politicians is. In 2006 and 2007 Luyendijk hosted the tv interview programme Zomergasten (Summer Guests) and in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Wintergasten (Winter Guests). Since March 2010 he is one of the regular hosts of the late night radio current affairs programme Met het oog op morgen (With a View to Tomorrow).
(nov 2010)Archive available for: Joris Luyendijk
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Oxfam Novib - PEN Awards
With: Andrei Nekrasov, Arnold Karskens, David Van Reybrouck, Joris Luyendijk, Lionel Veer, Tom van der Lee, Xandra Schutte
Winternachten is pleased that Oxfam Novib and Dutch PEN are announcing the winners of the Oxfam Novib PEN Awards at the festival. One of the laureates will come to The Hague to collect his or her prize.
The Oxfam Novib/PEN Awards are given out annually. Prizes are awarded to writers and artists who refuse to remain silent but instead dare to make their opinions heard and get into difficulty as a result. Lionel Veer, the Dutch human rights ambassador, will present the awards.
Straight after this the PEN Dispute starts, organised by Writers Unlimited in cooperation with Dutch PEN. In times of war, under dictatorial rule, and in extreme circumstances the governments involved try to control and manipulate news coverage. Propaganda and censorship are well-known methods to influence public opinion, but nowadays technological manipulation of the news is within the bounds of possibility. How are these novel methods of manipulation put into action and why must they be exposed? And how does manipulation of the media work here in the West? Raoul Heertje talks to writers and journalists Joris Luyendijk, Arnold Karskens, Xandra Schutte and David van Reybrouck about these issues. Award ceremony in English. PEN Dispute in Dutch.
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Old Ideals
Adriaan Van Dis, Maaza Mengiste en Abeer Soliman wrote books on ideals. Van Dis' novel Tikkop relates the history of two white men who as students got involved in the international resistance against Apartheid in South Africa. Mengiste wrote The Lion and the Emperor about the Ethiopian revolution which started in 1974 with the dethroning of emperor Haile Selassie. Soliman is working on a book about three generations in Egypt, the generation of the Nasser revolution, the 1970s, the generation of the exploiters and the present 'lost' generation. Joris Luyendijk talks to the writers about the loss, rebirth and clash between old and new ideals. In English.
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The need for chaos
Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe/Switzerland) and Vamba Sherif (the Netherlands/Liberia) both live in a very much regulated society, but write about chaotic and deregulated societies. Joris Luyendijk talks to them about the question whether chaos and disorder are a prerequisite without which no literature would come about think about Dutch writers travelling to the Balkan or Afghanistan for inspiration. Do Dutch writers have to look for chaos in order to write literature which really matters? Or do you, as a writer, have to be afraid of chaos and even in the most extreme circumstances have to go in search for something lasting? One can wonder if Gappah and Sherif would have become writers had they been born in the quiet surroundings of the Alps or the flat and regimented landscape of the Netherlands.
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Images of fear
Image of fear number one: the Twin Towers collapsing. What represented fear before this event? The mushroom cloud? Bas Heijne, Gerrit Jan Wolffensperger and Hassan Daoud show what disturbs them now and what disturbed them in the past. Joris Luyendijk asks them if the 'image language of fear' developed in the course of history and if so, if it has changed since 9/11. With recent and older footage from the media and from films, the Middle East and the West. In English
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In search of pure Islam
Hosted by writer/journalist Joris Luyendijk, journalist Rachida Azough and writer/essayist Ian Buruma talked to the Moroccan/Dutch writer Fouad Laroui on his book On Islamism. A Personal Rebuttal. He dissects and refutes the principles of islamism as a collective, political and totalitarian religion, blocking free, individual belief. What remains is pure religion. Journalist Rachida Azough replaced Naïma Azough. Dutch spoken.
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Dutchmen in the Arabic World
As a press-correspondent, a traveler for life and a lawyer they ended up in the Arabic world: Joris Luyendijk, Maurits Berger and Harm Botje. Berger wandered though the Islamic empire and wrote the beautiful book 'De islam is een sinaasappel' (Islam is an orange). Harm Botje used to be the correspondent in the Arabic region for the major Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Now he is a writer and a professional traveler in this part of the world. Hosted by Michaël Zeeman. Dutch spoken.
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Egypt, the Young Generation
Volkskrant-correspondent Joris Luyendijk arrived in Cairo as a student and described his experiences in his book 'Een goede man slaat soms zijn vrouw'. In this programme he speaks about the young generation of Egyptians. He meets one of them, witer May Telmissany (Caïro, 1965). She presented the Dutch translation of her first novel 'Dunjasâd'. A discussion in English, moderated by Michaël Zeeman. Dutch/English spoken.
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Radio and Television
Radio and TV West together recorded a programme on Winternachten. The programme was hosted by Louis Hueber, with his guests Gerrit Komrij, Louise Wondel and Joris Luyendijk. The live music was performed by the South African group Sam Tshabalala & Sabeka and the Eddie Veldman Opoyeye Kwartet.