Opening night with PJ Harvey
CROSSING BORDER ANTWERP 2 NOV 2023
literature
bookstore
poetry
music
spokenword
award
Wednesday 2 November
Thursday 3 November
YOU’LL HAVE TO SCREAM LOUDER
19:00 - 00:00
Korzo
Programme with Dutch and Flemish talent: poetry, spoken word and music.
6:30 PM - 12:00 AM
Korzo - OTHER WORLD BOOKSHOP
OTHER WORLD BOOKSHOP NOV 3
BOOKS OF FESTIVAL AUTHORS // READINGS // SPECIAL EDITIONS // BOOK SIGNINGS // HANG OUT
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7:00 PM - 7:08 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Demi Baltus
recites her poems while softly swaying to the beat of rhythmic words exploring abrasive situations, uncomfortable love and human insecurities. Her recitations are so much more than just reading a poem out loud.
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7:08 PM - 7:16 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Raz van Houts
works as a psychologist by day and on his literary debut at night. With humor and depth, Van Houts takes us through the ins and outs of the work of a psychologist.
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7:16 PM - 7:50 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
De Witte Kunst
create eccentric synthpop songs about dreaming of a better world and how to create a safe place for yourself in an increasingly chaotic existence.
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8:14 PM - 8:22 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Daniëlle Zawadi
is a prose writer and spoken word performer who explores identity and belonging as a young second-generation migrant in the Netherlands.
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8:22 PM - 8:30 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Malika Soudani
describes herself as a 'writing artist'. Her poetry collection Waar ik een slaapkamer heb gehad (Where I had a bedroom) recounts her memories of the places where she once had a bedroom.
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8:30 PM - 9:05 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Don Melody Club
uses a sixties drum-machine to create dreamy songs full of unique sounds and literary references ranging from Ramses Shaffy to non-Dutch troubadours.
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9:15 PM - 9:45 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Amina Belôrf
debuted with her collection of poems Zonder het licht te breken (Without breaking the light), which is already in its eighth edition, a rarity in the world of poetry.
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9:15 PM - 9:45 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Esohe Weyden
is the campus poet of the University of Antwerp and a veteran of the slam and spoken word scene. Her new collection of poems Tussentaal was nominated for the C. Buddingh Prize.
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Corinne Heyrman & Milan Mes
Corinne Heyrman will recite from her book Het begin en zijn oneindigheid, which explores the extent to which you choose who you are through the stories of hereditary mental illness. Heyrman’s recital is accompanied by trumpetist and sound artist Milan Mes.
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10:46 PM - 10:54 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Jasper Albinus
uses his poetry and performance to explore issues of identity, history, and politics. “I believe in the power of stories, what they can do for the good or the bad in society.”
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10:54 PM - 11:02 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Babeth Fonchie Fotchind
writes poetry about hidden fragilities in the lives of seemingly successful millennials, urging the reader to look deeper below the surface.
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11:02 PM - 11:10 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Ferdy Karto
debuts this year with his poetry anthology Het Firmament Tussendoor (The firmament in between), which was highly praised by the jury of the C. Buddingh Prize.
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11:10 PM - 11:45 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
IKRAAAN
explores pressing issues such as social anxiety and depression in hauntingly powerful vocals and candid lyrics on her debut album, Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg (Mental Healthcare).
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Friday 4 November
FESTIVAL EVENING FRIDAY
18.00 - 00.00
Korzo
An ongoing music and literature programme on several stages.
5:45 PM - 12:00 AM
Korzo - OTHER WORLD BOOKSHOP
OTHER WORLD BOOKSHOP NOV 4
BOOKS OF FESTIVAL AUTHORS // READINGS // SPECIAL EDITIONS // BOOK SIGNINGS // HANG OUT
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6:15 PM - 7:00 PM
Korzo - The Attic
Broeinest
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7:00 PM - 7:45 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Pitou
introduces her debut album Big Tear, full of alternative pop, layered vocals, hypnotic melodies and classical instruments.
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7:15 PM - 7:50 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
In conversation with Vashti Bunyan
Vashti Bunyan presents Wayward: Just Another Life to Live, a magical and moving memoir of how she bowed out of the 1970’s London folk scene to take long trip by foot and horse drawn wagon to the remote Scottish Hebrides.
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7:15 PM - 7:55 PM
Korzo - The Attic
In conversation with Karina Sainz Borgo
Karina Sainz Borgo presents her brilliant new novel The Third Country, in which we follow a mother on the run with her husband and twin children as a mysterious illness sweeps Venezuela.
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7:30 PM - 8:15 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Robocobra Quartet
are a Northern Irish post-punk jazz band making melodic tunes with musical instruments including keyboards, saxophones and sound – but no guitars are allowed.
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8:00 PM - 8:35 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
In conversation with Mustafa Stitou
Mustafa Stitou presents his new poetry collection Waar is het lam? (Where is the lamb?) which is filled with surreal topics such as a new species of sacrificial animal and a god in a simulator bathing in cosmic rays.
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8:15 PM - 8:35 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Kees van Kooten
the author and comedian who is a Dutch legend. He possesses one of The Netherlands' most beautifully absurd brains.
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8:15 PM - 9:00 PM
Korzo - The Attic
In conversation with Olga Ravn and Fríða Ísberg
Olga Ravn introduces her new novel The Employees, which takes place aboard a spaceship and turns the traditional sci-fi voyage into a brilliant existential nightmare. She is in conversation with the Icelandic author Fríða Ísberg, whose debut novel The Mark is another speculative journey into the unknown; Icelandic citizens are working towards a referendum on a mandatory empathy test.
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8:30 PM - 9:05 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
DBC Pierre and David Keenan
God is Afoot, Magic is Alive: Reasons Not To Die with DBC Pierre and David Keenan
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8:35 PM - 9:20 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Robin Kester
developed a new sound during the pandemic, and her experimental pop alternating between hazy euphoria and dark tensions is showcased on her new album, This is Not a Democracy.
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8:45 PM - 9:30 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
Malvin Moskalez
writes deeply emotional songs with a no-frills approach. Pure, warm and personal, this Belgian singer-songwriter comes armed only with an acoustic guitar and a stunning voice.
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9:22 PM - 9:30 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Nisrine Mbarki
launches her first collection of poetry Oeverloos, with beautiful sentences searching for lost primal powers and creating wonderful vistas such as a forest with ancient creatures.
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9:30 PM - 10:15 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Oracle Sisters
create dreamy melodic pop blending influences from art, cinema, philosophy and mythology in layers of rock, psychedelia and folk.
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9:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Korzo - The Attic
Dax
Local upcoming artist Dax presents her new album Pockets.
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9:45 PM - 10:20 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
In conversation with Benedict Wells
The conversation will be about his first novel Dromer but also about his latest novel Hard Land and the art of writing. Will he answer the most important question of all: ‘are you still writing’?
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9:52 PM - 10:00 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Alara Adilow
talks about her Mythen en Stoplichten, published in April, a raw and visceral poetry collection tackling themes of gender, queerness and the desire to escape the body.
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10:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Michelle Gurevich
found new opportunities to express feelings of vulnerability and rawness in songs about desire without end on her sixth album, Ecstasy in the Shadow of Ecstasy.
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10:15 PM - 10:50 PM
Korzo - The Attic
In conversation with Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai)
Stuart Braithwaite introduces his new book Spaceships over Glasgow, a love song to live rock and roll that recounts his time with Scottish post-rock band Mogwai.
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10:45 PM - 11:30 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Susobrino
is the alter ego of Belgian musician Bart Van Obbergen Pérez, who sources inspiration from his Bolivian roots and music from all over the world for his blend of meditative ethnotronics.
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10:45 PM - 11:20 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
Mushroom Mosis
is the musical project of Dutch songwriter and vocalist Damani, combining pop, jazz and soul. His improvised live shows take inspiration from the audience and environment.
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11:30 PM - 12:15 AM
Korzo - The Raven
Hallo Venray
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Saturday 5 November
DAY PROGRAMME SATURDAY
12.00 - 17.00
Various locations
A varied programme in nine locations with international authors and special events.
12:45 PM - 1:45 PM
KABK - Royal Academy of Art
In conversation with Leïla Slimani
Leïla Slimani presents Watch Us Dance (Kijk ons dansen), the latest installment of her semi-autobiographical trilogy based on her family’s experiences growing up on a poor farm in Morocco.
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12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Zaal 3
In conversation with Bryan Washington
Bryan Washington talks about Lot, his short stories set in multicultural Texas, where a boy of mixed race discovers he is attracted to men in a frank yet tender exploration of race and sexuality in America today.
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12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Huis van het boek
In conversation with Mariken Heitman
Mariken Heitman introduces her new novel Wormmaan, a surrealistic meditation on origin, identity and meaning as a woman embarks on a quest to cultivate a forgotten brand of pea back to its wild origins.
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1:45 PM - 2:30 PM
3345
White Rabbit presents Lias Saoudi (Fat White Family), David Keenan and Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai)
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2:15 PM - 3:15 PM
BorderKitchen
In conversation with Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr talks about his new book La plus secrète mémoire des hommes (The Most Secret Memory of Men) and reflects on being one of the the youngest recipients of the prestigious French Prix de Goncourt and the first from sub-Saharan Africa.
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2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Theater aan het Spui
In conversation with ANDREJ KOERKOV
Andrej Koerkov, Ukraine's greatest living novelist, presents his new book Diary of an Invasion, a penetrating account of the Russian invasion and his efforts to keep the story of Ukraine's struggle for freedom and democracy alive.
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2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Kunstmuseum Den Haag
In conversation with James Birch
James Birch presents his new book Bacon in Moscow, a riveting memoir of his quest to stage an exhibition of his friend Francis Bacon’s work in the Soviet Union.
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2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
KABK - Royal Academy of Art
In conversation with Raynor Winn
Raynor Winn talks about her new book Landlines, the story of an epic 1,600-km journey over Scottish Highlands, mountains, and glacial valleys as Winn and her husband try to suppress the symptoms of his terminal illness.
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4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
KABK - Royal Academy of Art
In conversation with Nino Haratischwili
Nino Haratischwili takes us to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, in her new title Lack of Light, a beautiful and poignant tale about four friends growing up in the 1980s and 1990s.
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4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Theater aan het Spui
European Literature Prize 2022
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FESTIVAL EVENING SATURDAY
19.00 - 00.00
Korzo
An ongoing music and literature programme on several stages.
6:30 PM - 12:00 AM
Korzo - OTHER WORLD BOOKSHOP
OTHER WORLD BOOKSHOP NOV 5
BOOKS OF FESTIVAL AUTHORS // READINGS // SPECIAL EDITIONS // BOOK SIGNINGS // HANG OUT
read more
7:00 PM - 7:40 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
In conversation with Nora Krug
Nora Krug talks about how we can protect our freedom and democratic rights and recognize the dawn of a totalitarian regime, while presenting her latest work, an illustrated edition of Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny.
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7:00 PM - 7:35 PM
Korzo - The Attic
In conversation with Lias Saoudi & Adelle Stripe
Lias Saoudi and Adelle Stripe discuss Ten Thousand Apologies, their collaboration chronicling the rowdy and often hilarious story of Lias Saoudi’s infamous post-punk band, Fat White Family: ‘A drug band with a rock problem’
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7:15 PM - 8:00 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Gino Cochise
is one of the most original, idiosyncratic and unconventional multi-instrumentalists, rappers, and producers in The Netherlands today. His debut album LBM III was released this year.
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7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Korzo - The Raven
The Delines
are back again! One of the highlights of Crossing Border in 2019, the country soul band from Portland, Oregon will once again take to the stage for this year’s edition.
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7:50 PM - 8:30 PM
Korzo - The Attic
In conversation with Damon Galgut
Damon Galgut introduces his Booker Prize-winning international bestseller The Promise (2021), which explores the troubled lives of a white South African family wrestling with its historical debt to their black housekeeper.
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8:00 PM - 8:45 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
Lias Saoudi and Ensemble
bring hypnotic soundscapes of spoken word, harmonious vocals, dreamy strings, keyboards and guitar – the opposite of Saoudi’s post-punk band Fat White Family.
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8:30 PM - 9:15 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Jeshi
is one of the most cutting-edge British rappers of the moment, tackling pressing social issues such as the cost-of-living crisis in his debut album, Universal Credit.
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8:45 PM - 9:25 PM
Korzo - The Attic
In conversation with Mariana Enriquez
Mariana Enriquez presents her new book The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, in which the terrifying enters the everyday and we commute between realism and the supernatural in Buenos Aires.
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9:00 PM - 9:40 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
In conversation with Johny Pitts
Johny Pitts explores Afro-European identity in his book Afropean: Notes from Black Europe, in which he travels the continent searching for black identities and what connects them.
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9:07 PM - 9:15 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Lee Bains
will recite poems from his Work Lunch series, parts of which have been published in The New Yorker, before accompanying legendary Alabama artist and musician Lonnie Holley.
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9:15 PM - 10:15 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Marissa Nadler
has a voice The Boston Globe said “could have lured men to their deaths at sea, an intoxicating soprano drenched in gauzy reverb”. Her music is a blend of traditional folk, Gothic Americana and pop.
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9:30 PM - 10:05 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
In conversation with Bez (Happy Mondays)
Bez talks about Buzzin', his new book full of adventures from the man who rattled the maracas in legendary Manchester rave rock band Happy Mondays, consumed eye popping amounts of drugs and who won Britain’s Celebrity Big Brother.
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9:45 PM - 10:20 PM
Korzo - The Attic
Maarten van der Graaff and Persis Bekkering
Persis has been nominated for top Dutch literary awards for her first two novels. Exces, her latest book, positions the rave movement as the ritual farewell to the future. Maarten van der Graaff latest novel Onder Asfalt is an enigmatic tale of a future world in which angels appear looking for answers and entire highways mysteriously disappear.
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10:00 PM - 10:35 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
In conversation with Hernan Diaz
Hernan Diaz is back with Trust, his second masterful novel spanning more than a century, which engrosses us in the lives of a legendary Wall Street tycoon and his wife, a fortune made, and secrets that slowly spread.
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10:20 PM - 11:05 PM
Korzo - Heartbeat Hotel
Jaws of Love
is the solo project of Kelcey Ayer, co-founder of Los Angeles indie band Local Natives. His new EP Patricia explores depression, reconnection with his Colombian roots, and the duality of being biracial.
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10:20 PM - 11:30 PM
Korzo - The Attic
THE CHRONICLES 2022
Crossing Border Festival’s unique annual residency project for talented authors and translators. Five writing talents write live about their findings and the translators get to work simultaneously to present their translations to the public the same day.
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10:45 PM - 11:15 PM
Korzo - The Hideout
Oriana Ikomo
is the brainchild of musician/performer Oriana Mangala, who wraps her neo-soul and RnB vocals in a cloak of jazz and electronic rhythms, as heard on her debut single YOU, which explores love and self-acceptance.
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10:52 PM - 11:00 PM
Korzo - The Raven
Thomas Heerma van Voss
presents his new story collection Passagiers/Achterblijvers, in which the characters leave their familiar surroundings and try to get a grip on the outside world.
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11:00 PM - 12:15 AM
Korzo - The Raven
Lonnie Holley and Mourning {A} BLKstar
creates free-flowing compositions with stream-of-consciousness lyrics. This Alabama-born outsider artist delights and surprises audiences with one-of-a-kind performances.
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