Chantal Neveu

Chantal Neveu is a Canadian poet, author and interdisciplinary artist, who spent a few weeks in Belgium as a participant in Passa Porta's program "writers in residence". She lives in Montreal.
She is described as "an innovative creative producer who works in a variety of media", "she mixes multiple forms of art to deliver new insights into language and culture".
I had the great pleasure of meeting this interesting lady at Villa Hellebosh, a charming country house on an unique piece of property in Vollezele, a small village about 30 km from Brussels.
http://www.hellebosch.com
http://writersinresidence.passaporta.be/index.php?q=residences/en/archive/528

Margaret Atwood

Yesterday evening, Flagey welcomed Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was her first visit ever to Brussels. The talk on future, fiction, our environment was entertaining and instructive. Delighted I was there!
You can watch an introduction to her talk here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FwVOsDrp7E&feature=youtu.be

Passa Porta Literary Festival part 2 of 2

"Belgium-debate" held in La Tentation, meeting place of the Gallician community in Brussels. Two writers and two journalists, two Flemish and two Walloons talked about the actual difficulties of a small country. Moderator and host Didier Delafontaine kept the line right in the middle.

Representing the Francophone or Walloon side were journalist Olivier Mouton of Le Soir and author Caroline Lamarche. Representing the Dutch-speaking or Flemish side were journalist Bart Sturtewagen of De Standaard and author Geert van Istendael.

Passa Porta Literary Festival part 1 of 2

Every two years, Brussels's heart beats to the rhythm of the Passa Porta Literary Festival. Four whole days devoted to literature, meetings, discussions and festivities, shared by thousands of literature lovers. Last Sunday, throughout the day, literature fans were treated to encounters and talks with a wide range of authors in theatres, bookshops and libraries, as well as in cafés, churches and train stations.
http://www.passaporta.be/index.php?q=en/festival2011
Connie Palmen, grand lady of Dutch literature read from her books and talked about how powerful reading experiences change lives and create happiness.

Author, David Van Reybrouck talks with former Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt about his book "Congo",  a phenomenal work of literature on the history of the Congo.  

"Van Reybrouck relies not only on rare archival footage and cutting-edge research, but also on hundreds of interviews he conducted with Congolese. His eyewitness of centenarians are child soldiers, rebel leaders to smugglers, from ministers to cassava sellers. All their stories form the core of this phenomenal book coupled with data, facts and a most personal view on the past. ‘Congo. A History’ is above all  a sort of “À la recherche du temps perdu” since Van Reybrouck’s father lived and worked for years in the former Belgian colony."

http://soulsafari.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/congo-a-history-by-david-van-reybrouck/

In the audience, Babah Tarawally, an author himself. He is originally from Sierra Leone and now lives in the Netherlands.