Zogezegd in Gent

April 4th, Vooruit, Ghent

Famous authors, a rare art collection and novels made of chocolate together under one roof

Anne Provoost about the origins of Zogezegd in Gent (So Said in Ghent): “The Book Fair in Antwerp has been the book event for decades, and it started to feel like that was the only moment of attention for books in the year.” Not only does Zogezegd in Ghent bring literature to the fore in another season – spring, a time of rebirth – but it also moves the attention for books geographically to the city of Ghent.

Even though this is only the second Zogezegd in Gent, last year’s event was such a success that it’s got culture hounds buzzing with anticipation and serves as the kick-off of Literaire Lente (Literary Spring), Flanders’ long-running, month-long celebration of Dutch literature. Literaire Lente highlights 24 new Dutch-language books and international works that have just been translated into Dutch. Always taking place in April, it hosts readings, walks, workshops and performances around Flanders.

Returning to Ghent’s Vooruit arts centre, Zogezegd in Gent will pack an ocean of events into one evening on 4 April. As curator, Provoost spearheads the activities and brings in most of Literaire Lente’s 24 featured authors, plus a few extra. She’s built the programme around the theme “Is there still power to imagination?” in order to question literature’s current ability to be visionary and to transform society.

“I was born in 1964, and I always had the feeling that I had major landmarks that were a moment in time,” she explains. “Writers had beacons that they were writing towards. Like 1984 was such an important moment, everything was measured as before or after that date. And 2001 was similar because of 2001: A Space Odyssey. After that, we had no beacon left.”

Provoost, who just published a non-fiction book on the need to redefine atheism, wonders “Is it naive to think you can still write a utopian novel?” The Zogezegd in Gent programme will look at this question through the historical context of the 1960s. “When you look at the role that books – fiction and non-fiction – played then, which of these are still relevant today?” asks Provoost. “That’s a question I plan to throw in there.”

“In there” refers to one of Zogezegd in Gent’s main attractions: The Rally Debate, an ongoing live debate with a number of Flemish and Dutch writers that will last the entire evening. Visitors are invited to walk in and out whenever they choose, and it will also be video streamed into other parts of the massive Vooruit.

In another hall is The Memory, in which authors born before 1940 are interviewed and read from their texts. Then there is The Future, which offers a forum to new writers. In The Tower of Babel, you’ll find international fiction writers reading and answering questions, including French author Philippe Claudel and German author Ingo Schulze. They will be interviewed in their own languages, but Croatian author Igor Stiks will speak English, as will British authors Blake Morrison and William Sutcliffe.

When you’re ready for a bit of a rest, there’s no harm in heading to the Chocolate Book room, where you can devour very special sweet editions of all the evening’s featured books. After that, make your way up to an attic room for Unplugged Readings, or the Sleeping Hall where 24 beds await. “You get a glass of jenever and a blanket,” explains Provoost. “And chances are if you sit on a bed, the author of a book will come and read to you.”

These are only part of the offerings, and visitors have to make choices because you cannot see or hear it all. But make sure to spend part of your time in Erotica, which features just that sort of Flemish literature. Top billing goes to the now 78-year-old Jef Geeraerts, author of the 1960s and 70s Gangreen series (the first of which detailed his sexual exploits in colonial Congo). Formerly censored Flemish books will be discussed, including work by the just-deceased Hugo Claus, and you can take a peek at the new book En rijen is plezant (And Taking a Good Ride is Pleasant), a collection of old Flemish folk songs that were sung with a wink and a nod. The fantastically fun girls’ choir Scala will be on hand to test out a few of them.

Finally, whatever you do, don’t miss the most visual part of the evening: Louis Paul Boon’s Fenomenale Feminateek. This massive collection of images of women in all manner of dress and undress was an ongoing project of the Flemish writer before his death in 1979. He clipped them from magazines and wrote comments underneath, and they have been scrutinised, judged and oggled for decades. “He said that he did it as research because he wanted to see how women were pictured over the years that he lived,” says Provoost. “We all want to know what is happening in the head of a writer, and we have to take it for what it is. I’m not willing to make it more beautiful than what it was, nor more dirty than what it was.” The province of Antwerp, though, came down on the side of dirty when they cancelled a planned showing of the collection recently at Antwerp’s FotoMuseum.

In fact, it is impossible to see Fenomenale Feminateek in its entirety. “No one has ever seen it all,” says Provoost. “It would take you seven days of eight hours each.” But Zogezegd in Gent is presenting the whole thing. “I can’t tell you how, but we’re showing it as it’s never been shown before.”

If you can’t join the 2,000 who are expected at Zogezegd in Gent, you can listen to a live feed on Radio 1, the organizer of the event. But if you do come, Provoost is sure that you’ll find something that will tickle your brain. “I’ve programmed for everybody’s taste,” she says. “For those who think they cannot be surprised anymore to those who still think literature is fun.”

International Zogezegd

Zogezegd is a celebration of new Dutch-language books but also books in other languages that have just been translated into Dutch. So, though most of the authors at the event will speak Dutch during presentations and discussions, some international authors will read and be interviewed in English. These include Igor Stiks from Chicago, whose 2006 book Elijah’s Chair won both Best Fiction Book of the Year and Best Novel of the year in his homeland of Croatia.

Two British authors are also visiting Ghent for the literary evening. William Sutcliffe’s new novel Whatever Makes You Happy is actually coming out in Dutch before it’s released in English in May. It’s a story of three mothers who hatch plans to straighten out the lives of their shiftless sons. Sutcliffe’s satiric books often focus on young Brits struggling with commitments.

Well known author, poet and contributor to numerous publications, including The Guardian and The New Yorker, Blake Morrison’s 2007 novel South of the River makes it’s Dutch debut. Probably best known for his painfully truthful memoir And When Did You Last See Your Father?, Morrison is also an award-winning poet. South of the River, about a group of loosely connected, rather unhappy adults, begins: “For the rest of his life, Nat would remember exactly what he was doing last night – at any rate, when his current amnesia wore off he would remember some of it.”