Tom Lanoye, Literary Multinational

Flemish story-writer, novelist, playwright, translator, columnist, pamphleteer and performer, Tom Lanoye is a versatile and much talked-about author. During the course of his twenty-year career, he has become an authority in various literary disciplines, but he has also shown himself to be a shrewd commentator on social matters that extend far beyond the realms of literature. Lanoye is now a feared but also respected analyst and critic of modern-day society. In his work he combines social insight with style, he couples profound earnestness and merciless humour, honesty and integrity, personal motivation and social commitment. The sheer range of his talent has generated a widely recognised authority. The boyish iconoclast has become a veritable institution. With extracts from Everything Must Go (Alles moet weg, 1988) and Weights and Measures (Maten en gewichten, 1994).