Babs Gons, new guest writer at the UG

How do you express yourself through language? And what exactly is the power of poetry? Babs Gons will explore these questions during her tenure as visiting writer at the University of Groningen during the 2026 – 2027 academic year. As a writer, poet, and spoken-word artist, Gons will explore - starting in November 2026 - how words accompany us and can bring about change in two public Studium Generale programs. In addition, she will reflect on language use with students in a series of six seminars. During these sessions, students will be introduced to different perspectives and will write their own story or poem centered on their personal language.

Poetry can help when a hardened society needs a softer tone; it can bring beauty at times when ugliness seems to be taking over; it can provide the right words to hope again, to resist. Because language is never innocent. For instance, writer Octavia Butler did not see herself or her experiences reflected in literature, so she declared: 'You have to create your own worlds. You have to write yourself into the language.' But how do you do that? That question is central to Gons’s residency as guest writer.

Babs Gons is a writer, performer, and spoken word artist. Years before she made her debut with the poetry collection 'Doe het toch maar' in 2021, Gons was already a central figure in the Dutch spoken word scene. She worked as a performance poet, curated the collection Hardop, served as a presenter, and was the artistic force behind projects such as Palabras, a platform for emerging spoken word poets, and Poetry Circle, a leading initiative for spoken word in the Netherlands.

As Poet Laureate of the Netherlands (2023 – 2025), Gons sought to engage as many people as possible with poetry and to breathe new life into the art of recitation. The selection committee praised Gons as 'one of the most compelling poets the Netherlands has today, with a voice full of fire, burning and warm, both on stage and on paper.' She is a poet who passionately and committedly puts into words what is happening in our time, in a society that she, with conviction, connects through poetry.

Her work has taken her to South Africa, Sudan, Curaçao, Suriname, Hungary, Italy, Ghana, Sweden, and Brazil, among other places. One of her many awards is the Gouden Ganzenveer (2024), which is awarded to “a person or organization of great significance to the written and printed word.”

On May 28, Atlas Contact will publish her latest collection, 'Who Are We Tomorrow', featuring urgent, socially conscious poetry on identity, power, and community, in which the personal is linked to the public and space is created for new voices and hope.

Visiting Writer Program

Since 1986, the University of Groningen has hosted a visiting writer every fall. The guest writer gives public lectures and leads a series of seminars. Since 2023, the guest writer program has also been linked to a writing course and writing contest for high school students in the northern part of the country. In various ways, the guest writer encourages critical reading and creative writing. Past guest writers at the University of Groningen have included Joost Zwagerman, Annejet van der Zijl, Kader Abdolah, Arthur Japin, Ellen Deckwitz, Marja Pruis, Raoul de Jong, and Joost Oomen.

The Guest Writer program is organized by the University of Groningen and Studium Generale Groningen. Registration for the seminars opens in June, and the schedule for public events will be announced in early October. Please check the Studium Generale website for updates.

_{This text is translated with DeepL}