Jan Brokken
is a well-known journalist who made his debut as a writer in 1984 with the largely autobiographical novel De provincie (The Province), the story of a youth spent in the countryside, which was made into a successful film. He has published gripping travel books about, among others, Africa, Indonesia and Curaçao, and is the author of the acclaimed and bestselling novels De blinde passagiers (The Blind Passengers, 1996), Jungle Rudy (2006) and Baltic Souls (2010) in which Brokken connects the cultural richness and social diversity of the region over the past eight centuries with tales of personal tragedy and a first-hand account of his travels.
A Swedish Frisian in Milan
The Basque waiter prefers not to understand ‘vino tinto’, nor does he understand ‘vin rouge’. Instead he gives me a bottle of rosé. It’s a moment when my ideal Europe is very far away….
The comets we do not see
We discover what is truly ground-breaking only later on. The brightest comets pass us by. During all those evenings we spend sitting in theatres or concert halls we miss the essence.
Narratives for Europe Reading Room
We invite you to read the contributions from journalists, researchers, writers who are, as we, investigating and questioning European Narratives and their making in the present and the future.
