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Casteren, J.

Casteren, J.

Joris van Casteren, born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in 1976. Journalist for the Dutch papers De Groene Amsterdammer, NRC-Handelsblad and Vrij Nederland and author of literary non-fiction.

Journalist-in-Residence (1 September 2007 – 31 January 2008)

‘DE BEDACHTE STAD’

My stay at NIAS from September 2007 to January 2008 was highly successful. When I arrived, the research on my literary non-fiction book on Lelystad had been done and I was loaded with information and personal memories. My goal was to find a form in which to integrate both elements in the book. By the second week of my stay, I had found the form I was looking for. In the first month, I rewrote the rough version I had of the first chapter. I tried to hold on to this tone of voice, and did not stop writing until the end of January 2008, when my semester was over.

At NIAS, I completed more than two-thirds of my manuscript, a most satisfying result that would not have been possible without its excellent library services and supportive facilities. Most important of all were the stimulating contacts I had with my fellow-colleagues at NIAS.