Tom Lanoye

(1958-) Poet, novelist, performer and playwright. Born in Sint-Niklaas, Northern Belgium, he started his career as a performer in cafés and as the publisher of his own poems. He has since become one of the most well-known Flemish writers. Lanoye's novels, poems, and shows are typified by his strong rhetorical ability and his sharp sense of humour. His theatre work includes the voluminous play Ten oorlog! (To War!) , based on Shakespeare's History Plays, Mefisto for Ever ) and Mamma Medea, an adaptation of Euripides' classic Medea. The last named has been translated into Afrikaans by Antjie Krog; an endeavour that articulates Lanoye's fascination with the themes of language and multiculturalism. In 2003, Lanoye became the first official poet of the city of Antwerp, a posting that was greeted with much public approval. In 2010 he toured Holland and South Africa with Antjie Krog, in a dynamic two-hander performance, focusing on language linkages, which received excellent reviews.