City Books

The Dutch author Arnon Grunberg is currently in Lublin for his citybooks residency. In his blog he writes about his experiences in the Polish city.

The Dutch author Arnon Grunberg is currently in Lublin for his citybooks residency. In his blog he writes about his experiences in the Polish city.

The translation from Dutch into English of Abdelkader Benali’s citybook Beeld van een gewapende strijder op een paard, in which the author records his stay in Skopje, is the result of a smooth collaboration in a virtual world. Students of Dutch at four British universities worked together on one translation under the umbrella of Virtual Dutch, an educational initiative involving four UK universities where Dutch is taught. Warrior on a Horse, the result of this effort, can be read and downloaded as free e-book on this website.

The Dutch poet Onno Kosters resided in the Austrian city of Graz in the autumn of 2011. His stay resulted in his citybook Zwaartekracht en tegenwicht, a series of poems. Kosters did not only get his inspiration from the city, but also from lyrics of the band Franz Ferdinand. In the past, Kosters has also written a citybook called All and Nothing about Utrecht.

On poetry day deBuren was present with citybooks in the Huis van de Poëzie (House of Poetry) in Utrecht. Over 600 people visited the ‘live poetry-anthology that you can walk through', a successful edition of this yearly festival. The citybooks presentations of Erik Lindner and Ester Naomi Perquin caught the attentive ears of quite a few interested visitors.

This week the Japanese-Austrian author Milena Michiko Flašar (1980) will present her new novel Ich nannte ihn Krawatte. (Verlag Klaus Wagenbach). Flašar has written two citybooks, for deBuren; one is a story about Ostend, and one is about Graz. deBuren, in coöperation with Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, has 5 copies to give away of Ich nannte ihn Krawatte.

Thursday the 26th of January is 'Poetry Day' here in the Netherlands and Flanders. The theme of this thirteenth edition is 'Stroom' (which can be translated as 'electricity'). A complete overview of the activities can be found at www.gedichtendag.com. deBuren made a selection from the program that involve authors who've written a citybook or a Radio Book.

Belgian writer Bart van Loo is currently in Chartres for his citybooks residency. On his blog he writes about his experiences in the French city. Today we're sharing with you his third and last message.

After being Antwerp's citypoet for two years, the Belgian poet Peter Holvoet-Hanssen, will leave the harbour along the Schelde and will set sail to Ostend. The poet boasts a strong relationship with both cities, and their influence is clearly visible in his brand new book Antwerpen/Oostende (Uitgeverij Promethuis/Antwerpen Boekenstad). A book full of city- and seapoems, photo’s, and drawings. His citybook The mission in Ostend is also included in this publication.

Belgian writer Bart van Loo is currently in Chartres for his citybooks residency. On his blog he writes about his experiences in the French city.