European Literature Night 2025
Indifference is the fuel of autocracy. What role does literature have in creating a culture of care? During the European Literature Night we examine the political potential of literature.‘Art can serve many purposes and take on many forms. But one of the key characteristics of a work of art is that it stimulates the mind and the heart’ – writes Alicja Gescinska in her essay Empathy against Indifference: On Totalitarianism and Art as a Moral and Political Force. During the European Literature Night we examine the political potential of literature. Can we improve ourselves in the act of caring through caring art?
In 2025 the European Literature Night is organised by EUNIC Netherlands and De Balie. This year the Embassy of Estonia, the Embassy of Greece, the Embassy of Ukraine, the British Council, the Institut Français, Goethe Institut, Polish Culture NL and Vlaams Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond, contribute to the event.
Stories of Hope: Drop-In Workshop and Collective Publication
Stories of Hope: Drop-In Workshop and Collective Publication is organised by the British Council and hosted by bog bodies press as part of the 2025 EUNIC European Literature Night. It builds a collaborative archive of our stories on the theme of hope. We feel the theme of hope is a complementary theme to the European Literature Night theme: Indifference is the fuel of autocracy. What role does literature have in creating a culture of care?
Participants can write from a range of (often unconventional) prompts, suited both for people who write often and those who never write at all. Once their piece is finished, whether it’s a sentence or an essay, it is formatted and printed in real time, and added to a growing, physical archive of writings on hope. Each participant creates a unique publication from these pieces to take with them. By the end of the workshop, we’ll have collectively built a wide-ranging assortment of stories in many different voices and styles, a meeting point for our diverse perspectives on hope. Participants will not only leave with a copy of their very own ‘Stories of Hope’ but the knowledge that their voice makes our collective story more vibrant, nuanced and meaningful.
Drop-in between 17:00 - 20:00 on Saturday 28 June 2025 at De Balie to take part in an engaging workhop.