For a long time, I believed that by now I would have written a book. A real one — bound, finished, on a shelf. Instead there are fragments: opening lines, half-chapters, poems, scattered across USB sticks and forgotten folders.
So I did the next best thing. I sat down with the people who did write the book, and asked what happened behind the pages. Kom Maar Dichter is a series of in-depth conversations with authors — about process, doubt, persistence, and the voices they chose to make visible.
New episodes appear here as written transcripts, in English and Dutch. Come closer.
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Continuing a tradition
If I'm honest, this podcast didn't start in a studio. It started at a breakfast table. My grandmother and I had a ritual: we would "discuss the day into motion" — politics, history, ethics, ordinary life. Sometimes the conversation lasted so long we needed dessert before we were done. Dialogue was never small talk. It was a way of thinking together; of sharpening the mind and softening the heart at the same time.
Kom Maar Dichter continues that tradition. I sit down with authors who did write the book — sometimes one, sometimes several — and enter their worlds. How did the story begin? What almost stopped it? What does writing change in a person? Which voices did they consciously choose to make visible?
Each conversation moves through three layers: the origin of the story, the discipline and ruptures of the writing process, and the broader shift that writing creates — in the author, and in the world the book enters. This is not about literary prestige. It's about process, doubt, persistence and perspective. And it's about representation — gently widening the space of who gets to tell stories, and who gets to recognise themselves in them.
People and places
Every guest brings a distinct voice — different backgrounds, different genres, different entry points into writing, all connected by the courage to put words into the world. We record most episodes at Robur op den Eik, a quiet place in nature that invites attention. When we're not at Robur, we're hosted by Het Huis Van Ontmoeting or Talander. The conversations are intimate but grounded — reflective, but practical; honest, without spectacle.
A different kind of book
Perhaps this is my book after all. Not bound in one volume, but unfolding across conversations. Not written alone, but shaped in dialogue. Not stored on forgotten devices, but spoken into the open.
Artemis moderates and hosts conversations with writers and public intellectuals — in Dutch, English, or a mix of both. She has hosted book launches, author talks and cultural programmes for organisations across Belgium.
If you're programming a literary event or cultural dialogue and need an experienced host who comes prepared and listens deeply — get in touch.
