Netherlands literary scene – February

Here’s our rundown of upcoming international literary events in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht for February 2020 and beyond. Events are in English unless otherwise noted. Most ask that you register; some require tickets. If you’d like to receive our listing of local literary events by email, sign up for our Monthly Update.

• OpenMicMonday – poetry, music and stories in Dutch, English and French (new performers welcome) on Mondays,  3 February, 20:30 at Labyrinth, Amsterdam
• ABC Open Mic – your chance to go public with your book, song or poem on Friday, 7 February, 18:00 at the American Book Center, Amsterdam
• Master Class with poet Megin Jiménez – Sunday, 9 February, 17:30 – 19:00 at Boekhandel van Rossum, Amsterdam
• Two Tales One Song – spoken word and poetry, 9 February, 19:00, Labyrinth, Amsterdam
• VERSO live journal – an evening of poetry, performance and surprise with Amsterdam’s live literary & art journal on Sunday, 9 February, 19:00 at Mezrab, Amsterdam, 19:00 at Mezrab, Amsterdam
• OpenMicMonday – poetry, music and stories in Dutch, English and French (new performers welcome) on Mondays,  10 February, 20:30 at Labyrinth, Amsterdam
• Jung Chang – the best-selling author of Wild Swans will be speaking about her latest book Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister, a biography of three extraordinary women who helped shape modern China, on Tuesday, 11 February, 20:00 at the Rode Hoed, Amsterdam
• The Int’l Open Crêpe – an open mic night with poetry, stories, songs and more in whatever language you want (no theme this time but performers will be rewarded with a crêpe cooked live on stage!), Tuesday, 11 February, 20:30 at ACU, Utrecht
• OpenMicMonday – poetry, music and stories in Dutch, English and French (new performers welcome) on Mondays,  17 February, 20:30 at Labyrinth, Amsterdam
• Rough Night Press/Beat Kelder – spoken word, poetry and expression on Friday, 20 February, 20:00 at Vondelbunker, Amsterdam
• OpenMicMonday – poetry, music and stories in Dutch, English and French (new performers welcome) on Mondays,  24 February, 20:30 at Labyrinth, Amsterdam
• Word Up: Edition Desire – spoken word poetry in English for social inclusion and diversity promotion on Thursday, 27 February, 19:00 at Checkpoint Charlie, Amsterdam
• KNOCK KNOCK – an evening of spoken word, poetry, music and soul food on Friday, 28 February, 19:15 at Volta, Amsterdam
• A spoon doesn’t walk, it is carried – poetry and performance on Friday, 28 February, 20:00 at Perdu, Amsterdam

MARCH

• Dostoyevsky Cities: Amsterdam – an evening of local Anglophone poetry and launch of an anthology featuring the selected poets, (former student Helena Grande will be reading!) on Sunday 1 March, 20:00 at Splendor, Amsterdam
• Etgar Keret – an evening with the world-renowned Israeli short-story author, including a discussion of his latest book Fly Already and screening of the documentary “Etgar Keret: Based on a True Story” on Monday, 9 March, 20:00 at Kerkstraat 11, The Hague
• An Evening with James Joyce – an accessible introduction to Joyce’s notoriously difficult masterpieces Ulysses and Finnegans Wake with live Irish music (and of course Irish beer) afterwards on Wednesday, 11 March, 20:30 at the Paradiso, Amsterdam. Note: this event will be in Dutch.
• Benjamin Black/John Banville – the Booker Prize-winning author will be discussing his latest book The Secret Guests on Wednesday, 18 March, 20:00 at Kerkstraat 11, The Hague
• Memoir writing course – a 1-day crash course on the fundamentals of memoir and personal essay on Sunday, 22 March, 10:00 at Boekhandel van Rossum, Amsterdam