Prestigeous prize, but no ceremony for controversial author

[peter_d]

'Astrid Roemer should not receive the Prize of Dutch Letters' - Netherlands News Live

The Surinamese writer Astrid Roemer is discredited because she stands up for Desi Bouterse in the December murder case, a few months before she receives the Prize of Dutch Letters. The Commemoration Committee for Victims of Suriname is stunned, and calls on the Dutch Language Union to “openly...

netherlandsnewslive.com

Surinamese author Astrid Roemer was awarded the Prize of Dutch Letters, easily the most prestigeous prize for writers in the Dutch language. The first Surinamese author to receive the prize was going to be honored in a ceremony presided over by the Belgian king. Everybody happy.

Well, not really... It turns out Roemer has very controversial political views, supporting former dictator and convicted murderer/drug criminal Desi Bouterse. And she became louder and louder about it in the past few weeks. As described in the article, this led to a fierce protest, specifically from opinion makers with a Surinamese background, but broader than that. Roemer on her turn, reacted in tweets that were so rude and unworthy that everyone thought her twitter account had been hacked.

From the beginning the committee of Dutch letters emphasized that the prize was awarded for Roemer's literary work, not to her as a person. Does this remind us of something?

Yesterday it was decided that Roemer would still get the prize, but that the ceremony was cancelled. No spotlights for the author, only for her work. The certificate is on its way to Suriname par avion.

Personally I think this is a more elegant solution than what the Nobel committtee did with Handke. But of course most of the protesters don't agree. So story continues...

 

[Bartleby]

I was gonna ask if you'd read any of her book, since I'd never heard of her; but I've seen she apparently has no books translated in English, so I wasn't gonna be able to read them anyway even if they were crazy interesting, so nevermind =P

 

[kpjayan]

^
Her book 'Off-White' is scheduled to be available in October this year.

 

[Bartleby]

Hmm its sounds quite interesting

A sweeping family saga from one of the most revered writers in Dutch letters,Off-White marks the English-language debut of Astrid Roemer, recipient of the P.C. Hooft Prize and the 2021 Prize for Dutch Literature. InOff-White, Roemer chronicles the inner lives of the women of the Vanta family as they tend to Grandma Bee’s declining health. As the story moves from Bee's religious rituals and the fragrant dishes her granddaughter Imker cooks for her to intersecting layers of family trauma, Roemer exposes the complexities and tensions of betweenness: between young and old, past and present, homeland and homeland, white and off-white. This depiction of Suriname and the Netherlands at the close of the colonial eradraws comparisons to the work of Toni Morrison and William Faulkner, as well as contemporary novelists such as Louise Erdrich and Igiaba Scego. Off-White, translated by Jan Steyn, introduces English-language readers to a writer whose daring prose “conjures up a magical and colorful universe in which desire and pain are interlinked.”

But it’s actually coming in, October, yes, 2023. Guess we’ll just have to wait a bit longer...

 

[Liam]

It's good to have you back, Peter, I hope you will stop by more often now...

 

[peter_d]

^ Thanks! I know I've been a bit of a lurker here. Keeping myself updated on the discussions, but hardly participating. Probably due to a slower literature reading pace for several reasons. Anyway, I have the same hope of being around on the forum a bit more often.

On the subject of Roemer, I haven't read anything by her yet. I was planning to dive into her work, but her twitter behaviour has put me off a bit. Not the political views, but rather tone and style. Time is a scarce commodity and I somehow prefer to spend it on authors who at least show a tiny little bit of respect towards anyone who dares to critisize them.

 

[Daniel del Real]

I was gonna ask if you'd read any of her book, since I'd never heard of her; but I've seen she apparently has no books translated in English, so I wasn't gonna be able to read them anyway even if they were crazy interesting, so nevermind =P

Same with Spanish translations, nonexistent.