The Dutch poet, novelist and author Johan de Boose was born in Gent, Belgium, in 1962, and grew up in Ontario. Until 1993 he studied Slav Languages and Literature and Eastern European Studies at the University of Gent, which included residences in Bulgaria, Poland and the Soviet Union. His doctor’s
Jean-Philippe Toussaint was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1957. He spent a large part of his youth in Paris, where later he studied Politics and Modern History. From 1982 to 1984 he taught French in Algeria, where he started writing. Incidentally, his first book ‘La salle de bain’ (1985; Engl:
Jan de Leeuw was born in 1968 in Aalst, Belgium. He grew up in a house with no books, but was a regular visitor to his local library. He was strongly influenced by his first reading of J.R.R. Tolkien’s »Lord of the Rings«. He already knew as a child that
In Koli Jean Bofane was born in 1954 in Mbandaka in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (former Zaire). At the age of six years he went to Belgium and up until 1983, when he returned to the DRC, he lived both in Belgium and in Africa. After his studies
Guido Gryseels, born in 1952, is a Belgian agricultural scientist. Since 2001, he has served as director of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren. In 2013, he initiated a new concept for the presentation of colonial history and colonial objects, which triggered an international debate. He is a member
François Vermeersch was born 1973 in Mons, Belgium. Today he teaches translation and interpreting there and works for the European Commission. He characterizes himself as a »lover of words«. In 2007 he took part in the Grand Slam National in Paris, together with the first Belgian slam team. © international
The Belgian artist and illustrator Éric Lambé was born in 1966 in Arlon. After studying art in Brussels, in the early 1990s he founded the Mokka group with Denis Larue and Alain Corbel and published an eponymous magazine. In 1992, the magazine was renamed »Pelure Amère« until it folded in
Eddy van Vliet was born in 1942 in Antwerp. The writer, who also worked as a lawyer in his home town, was one of the best known Flemish contemporary literary figures. Already at the age of 22 he wrote his debut with the poetry volume ‘Hed lied van ik’. Since
The Belgian artist, illustrator, and cartoonist Dominique Goblet was born in Brussels in 1967 and grew up in a French-Flemish family. Goblet studied fine arts at the Institut Saint-Luc, completed an illustration course from 1987 to 1990 and later earned her teaching qualifications in English and art. Since the 1990s,
The Dutch-speaking Belgian author, historian, and archaeologist David Van Reybrouck was born in Bruges in 1971. He studied archaeology and philosophy in Leuven, obtained a master’s degree in archaeology from Cambridge University, and completed his PhD at Leiden University in 2000. Initially, he worked for the Archives of European Archaeology
Born in 1968, David Vander Meulen is a French-speaking Belgian comic book writer and illustrator. After studying art and art history, he opened an underground cafe theatre in Brussels with a friend and created his first self-published comics. His drawing style of this period is characteristic of the École Marcinelle,
Flemish poet Charlotte Van den Broeck was born in Turnhout in 1991. She studied literature and linguistics in Ghent, which was followed by studies in drama (verbal arts) at the Royal Antwerp Conservatory. In 2015, her first collection of poems »Kameleon« (Eng. »Chameleon, Nachtroer«, 2020) was published, which won the
