We need stories: literature in the year of corona

Are we tired of hearing about corona? Not if the virus is featured in good stories from good writers! This year’s edition of the International Literature Festival Utrecht takes place in a turbulent time in which stories are perhaps more necessary than ever. An evening about literature that is in the midst of current events can therefore not be missed in the festival programma. During this programma, journalist and presenter Pieter van der Wielen talks to well-known writers about this turbulent time and the books they wrote about this (or fictional) pandemic(s). Daan Heerma van Voss, Hanna Bervoets and Aafke Romeijn take place on stage to discuss this topic. Stephan Vanfleteren reads from his book Diary of a Photographer. Corona Walks and the Italian  writer Paolo Giordano joins via live stream. The program can be followed in TivoliVredenburg or through a live stream. Tickets for the live stream can be bought via the ticket button on the right. Tickets to the venue can be bought here. The programme is partly in Dutch, partly in English.

Italian physicist Paolo Giordano‘s debut novel, The Solitude of Prime Numbers, immediately became an international bestseller. Likewise, his recently published essay In times of contamination, on globalization, individualism and the coronavirus. Novelist and historian Daan Heerma van Voss is considered the frontrunner of his generation and writes for many international publications. In Corona Chronicles, he describes the first two months of the corona crisis and how we try to get a grip on the situation. Hanna Bervoets‘ recent novel Welkom in het rijk der zieken is a haunting story about a sick person in an opaque parallel world – but earlier Bervoets wrote the apocalyptic novel Everything that was there, which

has been frequently recalled over the past year. Aafke Romeijn, versatile all-rounder, also wrote the almost predictive novel Concept M two years ago about a mysterious disease that disrupts society. Stephan Vanfleteren is one of the most famous photographers of the Low Countries. During the lockdown, he started to walk and look in a new way. He recorded his trips in the book Diary of a Photographer. Corona Walks.

Tickets for a seat in Tivoli’s Grote Zaal can be purchased through TivoliVredenburg. You can also follow the event via a live stream by buying your ticket via the ticket button, through a pay as you like system (from € 3 to € 15). The system is simple: you sign up with your mobile number, buy a ticket and then receive confirmation for the live stream. On the day of the event, log in using your phone number and the SMS code you receive and choose the Weneed stories live stream by clicking on it. This way you can watch the program at home on your mobile or laptop or cast it to your TV.