During the recurring panel discussion Conversations, professionals from the literary sector engage in conversation to discuss current themes relevant to writers, festivals, policy makers and publishers alike. The program was moderated by Frank Tazelaar, director of De Nieuwe Oost and Wintertuin, and was made available to international audiences by means of a livestream. Conversations is a symposium in English. 

 

The first round focused on the current state of literature. The arrival of the pandemic caused many shifts, that are visible in the way we arrange spaces and how we live in them, and in the way people relate to one another, in what ways they are able to communicate with each other. Which effects of these shifts can be discerned in the literary landscape, and what are the lessons we can learn from that?

The panel of the first round consisted of Evi Hoste (translator and editor at Dutch publishing house Pluim), Sophia Blyden (editor, writer, programmer) and Aline Lapeire (editor and programmer DeBuren). Poet and professor Alfred Schaffer and writer and columnist Hassnae Bouazza contributed to this round through means of a video message.

Round 2: 15h
Not only the landscape is changing, but also those who are active within that landscape. The role of the author is changing, but in what way? Is the future of authorship in working collectively, and if so, how do we relate to this?

During the second round of Conversations, authors Sholeh Rezazadeh and Lina Simutytė and teacher and curator Chadiedja Buijs talked about these themes. Writer and graphic designer Sherida Kuffour, and Annie Rutherford, translator and programmer at Scottish poetry festival StanzA, contributed with a video message.