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. In 2003, Lanoye became the first official poet of the city of Antwerp, a posting that was greeted with much public approval. 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 and was produced in South Africa by Marthinus Basson; an endeavour that articulates Lanoye's fascination with the themes of language and multiculturalism. In October/November 2006 she and the Afrikaans performance poet Antjie Krog, undertook a combined stage tour of Flanders, the Netherlands and South Africa. It was a dynamic two-hander performance, focusing on language linkages, which received excellent reviews and was a continuation of earlier instances of collaboration between the two artists.