Van Tilburg Lecture

Whereas Dutch painters Vermeer and Rembrandt of the Dutch Golden Age are internationally recognized, Dutch writers from the same period have remained virtually unknown outside the Netherlands. Their works might have been more widely acclaimed had they been translated into any of the major languages, just as contemporary author Stieg Larsson’s novels became a global literary phenomenon through translation from their original Swedish. Did the Dutch, who liked to think of themselves as global traders, ever really try to find a marketing strategy for exporting early modern Dutch literature to the world?

Els Stronks is Professor of Early Modern Dutch Literature and Culture at Utrecht University where she specializes in research on the functions of early modern texts as social instruments – as stimuli for local, regional and national discussions, and as compliments, support and affirmation in social traffic.

6pm - Lecture
7pm - Reception