On Wednesday March 12, the Illustere School organises a session titled ‘World travellers? On the boundaries of global mobility.’ Travelling is this year’s theme of the ‘boekenweek’ in The Netherlands. Speakers include Esther Peeren, Huub van Baar and Guido Snel. My contribution will draw on the work of poets Jan Slauerhoff and Fernando Pessoa as well as engage with a small debate currently taking place between Dutch authors Oek de Jong and Tommy Wieringa. While Wieringa claims it is at times crucial to write about places far away, de Jong claims one should only write about the things one is familiar with. I strongly disagree with de Jong. My talk will revolve around the question of how important travelling is, and point at its its privileged and elitist connotations and, finally, whether movement is a prerequisite to travel.
Wednesday 4pm, Museumcafe Bijzondere Collecties.
Please click here for more information, the session is in Dutch.