literature

The Top 5 Literature Stories of the Year

1. Still Reading 'Turkish Delight' In the #MeToo Era?

Fifty years ago, Jan Wolkers shook the Netherlands to its foundations with Turkish Delight. From the sixties onwards, the book’s explicit erotic descriptions made it a model of the sexual emancipation of a whole generation. How should we read the novel in the #MeToo era?
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2. How Amsterdam Became the Bookshop of the World

In the 17th century, Amsterdam was a mecca for book lovers from all over the world. On how the Dutch Republic satisfied the hunger for reading at the time, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen have written The Bookshop of the World, a ground-breaking, staggering and provocative book.
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3. The Book Tower’s Long Tail

The Book Tower of Ghent University was the fifteenth institution worldwide to join the American company Google in its ambition to digitize the world’s paper heritage. What are the results?
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4. ‘Dear Politicians, Reading Must Be Given Top Priority’

How can we counteract the decline in reading, especially among young people? Former publisher Henk Pröpper has a message for politicians. ‘You need to wake up to the fact that low levels of literacy and book reading have an adverse effect on the economy’.
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5. Moving Verses

Getting young people excited about contemporary Dutch-language poetry. With that goal in mind, Ons Erfdeel vzw and Poëziecentrum vzw joined forces. Their collaboration resulted in the video poetry project Moving Verses. Nine youngsters from the Low Countries created poetic films based on their favourite Dutch-language poem.
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• Amsterdam
• Ghent University
• Turks Fruit