Antjie Krog New Writer in Residence
22 September 2026
The South African writer Antjie Krog will be staying at the Amsterdam Writers Residence from 25 September to 19 October at the invitation of the Dutch Foundation for Literature. During her residency, she will be working on several anthologies and will appear at events including ILFU and the Night of Poetry.
Antjie Krog (1952) is a South African writer, poet and academic. She made her debut in 1970 with the poetry collection Dogter van Jefta. She has also written, among other works, Country of My Skull (1998), the poetry collection Pillage (Plunder, 2022), and most recently the autobiographical novel Binnenrijm van bloed (Binnerym van bloed, (2025). Recurring themes in her work include inequality in her country, motherhood and ageing. She has received several awards, including the Hertzogprys twice, the Alan Paton Award, and the Dutch Gouden Ganzenveer. In the Netherlands, she has appeared at Poetry International, the Nacht van de Poëzie and the Winternachten Festival.
During her residency, Krog will be working on three projects. She is writing an introduction for Swaartekrag/Swaatekrag/Zwaartekracht, a poetry anthology featuring Afrikaans and Kaaps translations of poems by Babs Gons, Radna Fabias and Simone Atangana Bekono, edited by Krog and Nathan Trantraal. She is also completing the introduction to an anthology on the work of Breyten Breytenbach, and writing an introduction to her Afrikaans translation of the novel From Man to Man by Olive Schreiner, in an edition by J.M. Coetzee.
In addition to her writing projects, she will take part in Exploring Stories at the International Literature Festival Utrecht (ILFU) and in the Nacht van de Poëzie. She will also give several lectures and attend musical performances based on her poetry collection Broze Aarde.
Events
26 September, 15:45: ILFU’s Exploring Stories, followed by a book signing until 17:30 at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht.
2 October: an event centred on her poetry collection Broze Aarde (2020) at the South Africa House in Amsterdam. Several musicians, together with Christianne Stotijn, will perform a number of pieces from the collection, after which Krog will conclude the event in conversation with the musical director.
3 October: a morning event on the book Kombuistaal (2025) in Utrecht.
3 October, 20:00: Nacht van de Poëzie at TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht.
5 October, 19:00: lecture at Paagman Bookstore, The Hague.
7 October, 20:15: preview performance of Broze Aarde at the Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden.
9 October, 19:00: in conversation with emeritus Professor of Afrikaans Ena Jansen at Donner Bookstore in Rotterdam.
11 October, 9:30: lecture at Athenaeum Bookstore.
11 October, 15:00: the premiere of Broze Aarde at PHIL in Haarlem.
15 October, 20:15: performance of Broze Aarde at Amare, The Hague.
16 October, 20:00: performance of Broze Aarde at PLT Theatre, Heerlen.
17 October, 20:15: performance of Broze Aarde at Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Amsterdam.