Raoul de Jong on Colonialism, Identity and Jaguarman
Henriette Louwerse in conversation with Dutch Surinamese author and performer Raoul de Jong who weaves the story of his ancestry with the story of Suriname then and now.
Raoul de Jong is a Dutch novelist and a prominent voice in a new narrative about colonialism. De Jong discusses the history behind his novel 'Jaguarman' (published by HopeRoad), in which he seeks to rewrite his relationship with this absent father and an absent heritage. Breaking away from traditional representations of colonial heritage, the novel blends memoir, fiction, and historical research into letters addressed to the mysterious jaguar man.
Raoul de Jong visited Sheffield and London to launch the English translation of his novel by John Eyck. De Jong's visit was part of the AHRC research project 'Beyond the National Narrative' and supported by the Dutch Language Union (Taalunie).
Raoul de Jong (1984) published eight books and wrote columns for multiple newspapers. His book Jaguarman, which was published in 2020, was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize, the European Union Prize for Literature, the Boekenbon Literature Prize, the Boon and the E. du Perron Prize. In 2022, he received the Anna Blaman Prize for his entire oeuvre. In 2023, Raoul wrote the Dutch National Bookweek Essay Boto Banja, which entered the bestseller lists at number 1. His work is translated into German, French and English.
Credits
- Interviewer: Dr Henriette Louwerse (Principal Investigator of ‘Beyond the National Narrative: Translating the Anglo-Dutch colonial legacy in restorative stories’, Director of the Centre for Dutch and Flemish Studies at the University of Sheffield)
- Interviewee: Raoul de Jong (Novelist, Columnist and Programme Maker)