Revival of the Readers: Jonge Schrijversavond in Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam

Nov 22, 2012 | by Frederike | Art, Event

About the author

As a twenty-five year old writer, hummusaddict, night decorator, Master student, secret girlfriend of James Franco and lover of thick books, I totally agree with the saying that wolves don't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.

Books are boring? I don’t think so. They’re even sexy. At least that is how the initiators describe their Young Writers Night (Jonge Schrijversavond) that celebrates their fourth edition soon. In this flashy version of the old school ‘Boekenbal’, Maurice Seleky will interview eight young authors about their debut or passion for words in general. Last year Hanna Bervoets gave away a nice anecdote about escaping boring house parties and James Worthy stuttered about his many female bed partners. The all-rounder Johan Fretz will also take a special part in the evening: time to talk.

Tell me Mr Fretz, why do you think our generation doesn’t really eat up books?
“These days there’s a huge amount of information, especially on the web, so this ‘classic’ medium isn’t the first choice anymore. I’m not sure it’s a pity, especially because I see a lot of people around me who do put effort in reading and buying literature. Small bookshops, like De Nieuwe Boekhandel and Books & Bubbles, seem to be popular under the young residents of Amsterdam.”

It’s an easy way for the audience to get to know something about literature

What do you think of the authors who will ‘perform’ this evening, have any favourites?
“No, actually I don’t! I think the strength of this evening lies in the combination of these eight individuals. On their own I’m not sure if they could fill up a whole night in the theatre, but bringing them together the way Maurice Seleky does makes it an interesting and inspiring concept. On one hand because it’s an easy way for the audience to get to know something about literature, on the other hand because for the debuts it’s a great opportunity to promote their work.”

Your own book, Fretz2025, gained a lot of attention. You’re ambitious on many levels, did this success change your direction somehow?
“Hmm, I guess not really. I’ve always been very interested in a lot of stuff. For me it has to do with the combination of art and politics, about telling stories and narrowing this gap. My theatre show ‘De Gebroeders Fretz’ is also about ideologies just like writing my ‘political’ book was a creative process. The interdisciplinary aspect of my ambitions has always been the base. The only thing that maybe changed is my fictitious goal of becoming Prime Minister in 2025. Because of the hopeful and enthusiastic reactions, this plan might be more solid than it seemed before.”

There’s enough people in Amsterdam who are something ‘slash’ DJ

Besides theatre maker/writer/orator/TV-performer and so on, I noticed you’ll give away a b2b session behind the decks with Willem Bosch. A hidden ambition I don’t know about?!
“Hahaha, no it’s more of a fun thing Maurice asked me to do. I seriously don’t exactly know how to mix so it will be exciting for the both of us. Willem is a good friend of mine and we chose some tunes and will make them work. No, there’s enough people in Amsterdam who are something ‘slash’ DJ, but it will be a lot fun!”

So you want to see Maurice Seleky interview Marjolijn van Heemstra, Matthijs Kleyn, Alma Mathijsen, Olga Kortz, Peter Zantigh, Carlijn Vis, Renske Jonkman, Arie Boomsma and be ready and steady for the musical preferences of Johan Fretz? Friday it is.