P.F. Thomése new guest writer at University of Groningen

Writer, essayist and cultural critic P.F. Thomése is the new guest writer at the University of Groningen. In three lectures and a public interview due to be held in the autumn, he will explore the themes ‘readable and unreadable books’, and ‘getting lost’. He will also give seminars to a selected group of students about the supposed readability and unreadability of literary texts.

Programme

Getting lost in the first few pages and never making it home; we’ve all been there. This experience of unreadability can be so strong that it even seems to be an essential characteristic of literature. And yet managing to finish an ‘unreadable’ book says a lot about who we are. Creativity is not just a character trait of writers; readers need it too.

This is a recurring theme in the public lectures to be given by guest writer P.F. Thomése at the University of Groningen. He will be interviewed about his highly varied body of work and will join discussions with fellow writers Tonnus Oosterhoff and Griet Op de Beeck about the readability (or unreadability) of their books.

P.F. Thomése

P.F. Thomése (1958) is one of the most versatile writers in our language area, working as a novelist, essayist, polemist, storyteller, ironist and sharp cultural critic. He has received numerous nominations and awards, including the Ako Literatuurprijs and the Bob den Uylprijs, and his work has been translated into more than twenty languages. Since his debut compilation Zuidland (1990), unpredictability seems to be the only predictable aspect of his work. His books vary from the gripping ego document Schaduwkind (2003) to the picaresque novels J. Kessels: The Novel (2009) and Het bamischandaal (2012). His latest novel De onderwaterzwemmer (2015) has been nominated for the Libris Literatuurprijs 2016.

Guest writers

The University of Groningen has appointed a guest writer every autumn since 1986. Guest writers give public lectures and organize a series of seminars. Previous guest writers at the University of Groningen include Dick Hillenius, Doeschka Meijsing, Willem Wilmink, Monica van Paemel, Willem Jan Otten, Gerrit Krol, Nelleke Noordervliet, Bernlef, Rutger Kopland, Joost Zwagerman, Thomas Rosenboom, Bas Heijne, Koos van Zomeren, Tonnus Oosterhoff, Marjolijn Februari, Esther Jansma, Kader Abdolah, Arthur Japin, Annejet van der Zijl, Hans Aarsman, Marjoleine de Vosen and Joost de Vries.

The University of Groningen and Studium Generale Groningen are responsible for appointing guest writers .

For more information:

Guus Termeer, Studium Generale Groningen, telephone +31 (0)50 363 5464, a.j.m.termeer rug.nl , www.rug.nl/studium