The measure of literary festivals

17 februari 2014  “Life is already heavy, let literature be light.” A.L. Snijders said it and the Wintertuin adopted it. Last week pop podium Doornroosje, Lindenberg, the Radboud University and the Badhuis opened their stages to writers, poets, cultural theorists and literary theorists, but also to musicians and television personalities. The audience is young, diverse, and, above all, boundlessly curious.

There’s something for everyone. The different symposiums, master classes, and readings follow each other quickly, and with workshops by the satirical online magazine De Speld and a guest lecture by Herman Brusselmans there are enough laughs to be had. The programme is light, it seems, but the importance of literary festivals weighs heavy. To find something on a serious note I headed to the Refter (the campus restaurant), where, under the leadership of Jos Joosten, professor of Dutch literature, three festival organisers were debating the value literary festivals can add to the Dutch literary landscape.
 
After everyone has taken their seats Wout Waanders ascends the stage, sporting a fine cowboy hat. He starts his speech with “The time of the cowboy is over”. It’s a quote from Pieter Steinz and refers to the increasing government interference and regulations that literary festivals, founded in the 1980s and 1990s by literary free thinkers – or cowboys – are having to deal with today. Besides this it is the title of Waanders’ research, which led to the symposium.
 
After he has put away the hat he explains that the regulations laid down by the ministry of Education, Culture and Science are particularly aimed at trying to stimulate as great an audience as possible. Does this lead to concessions in terms of quality? That is the first question Jos Joosten asks Ton van de Langkruis (Writers Unlimited), Bas Kwakman (Poetry International), and Frank Tazelaar (Wintertuin)
 
“Is the literary festival ‘a compromise between what you must do to be literature and what you must do to attract audiences’?”
 
No, opine the three organisers. Kwakman is particularly assertive: Poetry International will not compromise where the programme is concerned. Van de Langkruis elaborates that Writers Unlimited programmes are in line with a theme, and that big crowd pullers are often a vehicle. For example a great author like Gerrit Komrij, who composed anthologies of South African poetry and was used at Winternachten to introduce three young unknown African poets.
 
The primary function of a literary festival is, according to Tazelaar, showing where the focus lies within literature. What is going on and where is it happening? In the 1980s the literary magazine was the pre-eminent platform for experimentation and development. In the 1990s and 2000s a shift occurred towards the festivals, which could now lose their incubator function in turn. That’s not disastrous, festivals are still important when it comes to seeing, showing, and interesting people in current developments.
 
And people keep coming. It’s down to the festivals to cultivate a bond of trust with the audience. They must clearly profile their own identity, be recognisable for a returning audience, and give value for money every year. Kwakman makes a promise, he says: over the course of the year he goes looking for the best poetry he can serve the festival’s visitors. Is the client sacred? Do the organisers annually evaluate which performances do well with audiences? To a certain extent yes, explains Tazelaar. If the work is nothing, it’s nothing, even if it becomes a hit. And that’s impossible: you want to be proud of your product.
 
“You don’t want to be too highbrow or some kind of gatekeeper, but as a literary festival you do want to contribute to your discipline.”
 
And there lies the obstacle of cultural entrepreneurship, continues Joosten. The festivals must be self-sufficient; at least that’s what secretary of state Halbe Zijlstra’s austerity measures pushed for. The success of a year was measured in economic data and audience numbers. However, the value of literary festivals cannot be translated into numbers. What it’s really about is the effect, you’re selling inspiration. Every festival is unique in that. Each has its own expertise and its own value.
 
Kwakman does briefly shed light on the development of a new kind of cultural entrepreneurship. Due to the austerity measures the festivals were stimulated to find alternative funds. Poetry International is present in Rotterdam all year, in verses of poetry on cleaning vehicles that patrol the city for instance. In this way other companies are also convinced to sponsor. Writers Unlimited is known for its social involvement and international perspective, and employs its knowledge by offering readings to companies, the Rotary Club for example. Authors who write about appropriate topics are deployed during meetings, for example, through which these are given a different twist and new forms of understanding can be cultivated.
 
A question resounds from the audience: how long do the festivals think they can keep going? Kwakman answers with conviction that Poetry International has lost none of its relevance. It is, however, important to perpetually show that you are irreplaceable. This value isn’t visible in numbers or profits though. What literary festivals do is priceless, conclude Van de Langkruis, Kwakman and Tazelaar. These festivals strengthen literary culture. In that respect they are heavyweights. 
This article originally appeared in Dutch on the website of the Dutch Foundation for Literature on 21 November 2013.