Passa Porta Festival 2017

There will be public interviews (Lionel Shriver at La Monnaie, Sofi Oksanen at Bozar, Maylis de Kerangal at La Bellone, etc.), readings of previously unpublished texts (P.F. Thomèse, Nathalie Skowronek, Fikry El Azzouzi, ...), debates (on the power of reading, and on the culture of fear with Frank Furedi, on the ‘intense life’ with Tristan Garcia and Véronique Bergen) and musical readings (Bertrand Belin, Toon Tellegen, Marcus Malte, ...), but also more interactive events: a translation contest (come vote for your favourite version!), illustrators who will answer your question with a drawing and writers who will draw your portrait with words, and you will even have the opportunity to play literary video games at the Beursschouwburg, the festival centre.

Opening Night…

Passa Porta kicks off this Friday night with a change in programme, as American author Paul Auster was forced to cancel his appearance his visit to Brussels because of health issues. For the opening night of the Passa Porta Festival three writers will now take the stage in Flagey, discussing literature and politics: ‘How to Read the World?’. The Turkish Ece Temelkuran, the Franco-Iranian Négar Djavadi and the Colombian Juan Gabriel Vásquez, have recently published books offering a sharp understanding of the contemporary world. This exceptional evening echoes  the Passa Porta Festival, in being multinlingual, in touch with contemporary issues and international.

On Saturday, A Swinging Evening under the Sign of Duos…

On Saturday 25 March, writers, poets, slammers and illustrators will team up with other artists for ‘Duality’ to form pairs in various rooms of the Beursschouwburg, the festival center.

Passa Porta Festival is a unique opportunity to take the time over the course of a weekend to feed on, interact with and experience literature live.