‘RAAK! Six sharp-witted, pugnacious authors in a boxing ring’

Featuring Frederik Willem Daem, Bregje Hofstede, Gaea Schoeters, Roderik Six, Lara Taveirne …

Slap – bang – wallop! This year’s boxing match won’t be fought with flying fists and a pair of boxing gloves, but with hard-hitting words and snappy formulations.

Festival curator/author Saskia De Coster has invited six promising authors to put each other through the proverbial wringer as part of an unprecedented war of words in an actual boxing arena.

There will be three rounds in which two authors will be presented with a statement, which they are expected to fight tooth and nail to defend in no more than 400 words. The referee in charge is set to oversee proceedings as he or she adds fuel to the fire by catapulting additional questions into the ring. One of the pair answers, the other author responds.

Who will come out the least scathed? The audience decides!

THE DUELLISTS:

Round 1: Roderik Six versus Bregje Hofstede

Topic: ‘Imagination’ versus ‘Efficiency’

Roderik Six: a writer ‘with firmly descended balls’ (according to Humo). One of the heavyweights as the author of the novel, Vloed (Bronzen Uil, 2012), a reviewer at Focus Knack and a former jury member of the Gouden Boekenuil.

Vs.

At the tender age of 26, Bregje Hofstede’s debut, De hemel boven Parijs (2014), was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize and the Gouden Boekenuil Award. Alongside being a writer, she lectures in history of art at Radboud University.

Round 2: Frederik Willem Daem versus Lara Taveirne

Topic: ‘City’ versus ‘Countryside’

Frederik Willem Daem takes a size 8 shoe and worryingly had trouble with his knees from a young age. Not one to be beaten by mere knee aches, he set up art magazine, Oogst, along with Jozefien Van Beek. Made his debut in September 2015 with a collection of short stories published by De Bezige Bij.

Vs.

Lara Taveirne’s debut novel, De kinderen van Calais, was nominated for a Bronzen Uil Award in 2014. As a director and author, her work is filled with love but equal measures of sadness and a ‘cruel beauty’. Moreover, she firmly believes you can  dance on unstable heels.

Round 3: Gaea Schoeters versus tbc.

Topic: ‘Massa’ versus ‘Elite’

Gaea Schoeters came into this world, left fist first, on the hottest day in years, debuted with a series of short stories and wrote the travel book, Meisjes, Moslims & Motoren, and the novel, Diggers. Expect an uppercut of razor sharp raillery from this author, journalist and script writer. 

Vs.

TBC

Warm-up:  Battle of the Magazines

Charlie magazine, DW B, Boeken Magazine or Oogst? Which magazine will be taking home the honorary ‘Best Magazine in the Low Countries’ title?

BANG! Imaginative City Festival curated by Saskia De Coster

This event is part of the imaginative city festival BANG! Curated by Saskia De Coster. Due to the construction work currently being undertaken, KultuurKaffee has opted for a nomadic existence and, together with a guest curator, assembles twice a year a multidisciplinary programme of events at various locations dotted around the city of Brussels. Autumn 2015 sees author Saskia De Coster welcoming her festival guests at Bozar.