To celebrate the publication: Audre Lorde – Dream of Europe: selected seminars and interviews: 1984–1992 (Kenning Editions, 2020), de Appel organised a close reading group starting late September 2020, in order to collectively read and give voice to Lorde’s work as assembled in this book. This close reading group will consist of seven separate readings. For each reading we will be joined by a guest reader who has a connection with Lorde's work, and who will read along with the group for two hours. We are happy to announce that during the seven readings we will be joined by the following guest readers: Philomena Essed, Nancy Jouwe, Mayra A. Rodriguez Castro, Pamela Sneed, Sayonara Stutgard, Shishani Vranckx and Gloria Wekker.

*Due to the new Covid safety measures we have moved Dream of Europe reading group to participation via Zoom only.*

The aim of the reading group is to read the collected seminars, readings and interviews that the book brings together, with the focus on the experience of reading and not so much on establishing a theoretical dialogue. The group will lend its voice to the work of Lorde, which will be broadcasted via livestream on the website of de Appel, existing as a live and temporary audiobook (participants will not be visible).

We find it important to facilitate a sense of togetherness in a time of physical distance and acceleration of online production, therefore the sessions will take place on location in the iconic Aula of de Appel, while keeping in consideration the necessary safety measurements. There is room for a select amount participants on location, or remotely via Zoom. Guest readers who are located outside of The Netherlands, or who are unable to travel, are invited to join through Zoom as well. The reading group is meant for active participation. Listening in live to the reading group is possible via the livestream above.

No prior knowledge of Audre Lorde, or poetry for that matter, is mandatory in order to join one, several or all readings. There’s no need to commit to all sessions at once. Each week, we will announce each reading after which you can subscribe, free of cost, as a participant via dreamofeurope [​at​] deappel.nl. Please mention whether you will be joining via Zoom or in person. All participants will receive a PDF of the extracts, a hard copy of the book can be purchased in de Appel's bookshop, or here.

More about the publication

As part of De Appel Reads* #12 we presented an excerpt from Audre Lorde: Dream of Europe, selected seminars and interviews: 1984-1992. This publication is edited, with an afterword by poet and translator Mayra A. Rodríguez Castro and includes a preface by Dagmar Schultz, a longtime friend and collaborator of Lorde’s in Berlin. This book was published in Spring 2020 by Kenning Editions and focuses on Lorde’s defense of poetry and her aesthetic persistence, even under the most difficult of circumstances, as she battled cancer and the sickness of systemic racism among other forms of discrimination. Please access the PDF here.

Most of the poetry included in Lorde’s never before published seminars at the Freie Universität in Berlin is rights protected, but you get a sense of the rich contents of this book from transcripts of two key interviews, Lorde’s last poetry reading in Berlin, as well as a speech she gave at a 1988 International Conference of Writers entitled Dream of Europe.

We are grateful to Mayra A. Rodriguez Castro and Patrick F. Durgin of Kenning Editions for sharing this invaluable and timely material.

All this in preparation for the launch of “Dream of Europe” in the Netherlands with esteemed guests Philomena Essed, Gail Lewis, Gloria Wekker and Mayra A. Rodriguez Castro. This gathering will be scheduled when all participants can travel safely to Amsterdam.

*De Appel Reads is a series of publications offered to de Appel email subscribers. It consists of new texts, reprints and the occasional lost gem. These texts relate to current and past projects de Appel is engaged in.