Letters to Poseidon

Cees Nooteboom’s new book, published on 4 October 2012, is called Brieven aan Poseidon (Letters to Poseidon). Is this god still interested in humanity? Does the ruler of the seas still pay attention to the ins and outs of mortal existence? Every autumn, when Cees Nooteboom leaves his summer island, he asks Poseidon for permission to return next year. In his letters, Nooteboom tells tales of his daily life, says what he thinks about the gods and about God, and provides a new perspective on myths.

In an interview with the VPRO-Gids, Nooteboom talked about how he came to write this book: ‘I started a series of observations, short pieces in which I write about the state of the world, about everything around me. They are letters to Poseidon. Why? I was walking across the Viktualienmarkt in Munich one afternoon last year. It was February but the sun was shining, and I thought: Why not? So I sat down outside a café and ordered a glass of champagne. Meanwhile I was thinking about writing these pieces. Messages. But to whom? Then I looked up and saw the name of the restaurant on the facade of the building. Poseidon. Things are handed to you like that, as a gift from reality.’

The German translation – by Helga van Beuningen – was published in September by Suhrkamp: Briefe an Poseidon. The author will be visiting Germany in October: Düsseldorf (18/10), Essen (19/10) and Freiburg (23/10). For further information, click here.