INTERCITIES
Stefan Hertmans
A collection of philosophical travel stories
Intercities is an erudite collection of philosophical travel stories about cities
including Vienna, Dresden, Trieste, Venice and Sydney. The title reflects both
the passion with which the writer tries to uncover the meaning behind the
facade of each city he visits and the intellectual power that lies at the heart of
his stories. In his travels Hertmans continually draws upon world literature: in
Vienna he walks in Kafka’s footsteps, in Trieste he encounters Svevo, Joyce
and Winckelmann, and in the reconstructed centre of Dresden he meets the
hero of one of Harry Mulisch’s novels. ¶ The author of a substantial oeuvre,
Hertmans is perpetuating the Renaissance tradition of the Grand Tour. As the
writer approaches the end of his journey, the cities melt together and reflect
one another in his mind. The result is a beautiful balance between intellectual
understanding and personal impressions. His great strength is his ability
to keep his eyes open in all circumstances and to surprise himself with the
realization that ‘travelling often turns out to be a process of finding what you
weren’t looking for’.
Stefan Hertmans (b. 1951) made his name as a poet and essayist,
but he has also written extraordinary travelogues and plays, and
his novels and collections of short stories have been consistently
praised by the critics. The quality of his work has won him awards
in both the Netherlands and Flanders, including the Belgian State
Prize for poetry in 1995 and the five-yearly essay prize awarded by
the Royal Academy for Dutch Language and Literature.
Pages 256 pp
Prizes Prix La Ville à Lire/France Culture 2003
Rights sold English (Reaktion Books), French (Le Castor Astral),
Spanish (Pre-textos)
Website www.stefanhertmans.be
Contact: De Bezige Bij – Hayo Deinum; Marijke Nagtegaal
Van Miereveldstraat 1 – NL 1071 DW Amsterdam – The Netherlands
h.deinum@debezigebij.nl; m.nagtegaal@debezigebij.nl – www.debezigebij.nl