The “Writer-in-Residence” programme

Athens is a fascinating town with a curious mixture of ancient and modern; Sophocles, Euripides and Plato versus Cavafy, Seferis and Kazantzakis. The city may very well be a source of both surprise and inspiration for Dutch writers.

Since 2005, the Dutch Foundation for Literature (‘Fonds voor de Letteren’) in Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute at Athens offer writers and translators the opportunity to stay in the apartment of the NIA, located in the old city centre, only a hundred metres away from the Acropolis. The apartment is 22 m2, has two beds, a wc/shower, shared kitchen, access to internet, television and air-conditioning system.

The Writer-in-Residence programme is a joint initiative by the Dutch Foundation for Literature and the NIA. Travel and accommodation expenses are covered by the Foundation. A stay at the Institute is meant for writers and translators who want to come to Athens for their work, with regard to research or inspiration for a book. Guests may use the study rooms and the small but interesting library that mainly focuses on Archaeology and Classical and Hellenic Studies. A writer can stay in the apartment for a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of four weeks.

The “Van Hasselt Room”

In 2006, the NIA decided to name the apartment on the second floor of the building after the Dutch journalist and writer Frans van Hasselt. A portrait of the journalist was painted by the Dutch artist Suzanne Ligthart on this particular occasion.

Frans Gerard van Hasselt was born in 1927 in Amsterdam and studied History and Modern Greek at the University of Amsterdam. In 1951, he visited Greece for the first time and moved, in 1959, permanently to Athens where he worked as a correspondent of the Algemeen Handelsblad (later NRC Handelsblad) and other Dutch media. His stay in the Greek capital was interrupted only during the Greek military junta of 1967–1974 when he was expelled and moved to Istanbul. During his long service as a correspondent he successfully managed to express his feelings for Greece, its people and music through words. This has given numerous readers the opportunity to get an impression of Greece in all its aspects. Frans van Hasselt is still a frequent visitor of the Netherlands Institute.

Frans van Hasselt by Suzanne Ligthart ............Van Hasselt-kamer

The following writers stayed at the NIA:
Jan-Willem Anker (December 2006), Anneke Brassinga (July 2005), Maria van Daalen (September 2008), Joke Hermsen (October 2008), Hero Hokwerda (July 2005, January 2009), Paul Janssen (July 2006), Hester Knibbe (April 2006), Martijn Knol (June 2005), Erik Lindner (November 2007), Edzard Mik (December 2005), Alfred Schaffer (July 2008) en Henk van der Waal (October 2007).