Crossing Border 2010

On Sunday I did the most blasphemous thing you can do: work. It was the Crossing Border festival in Antwerp, a casual gathering that unites music and literature and where there’s literature, there are books and where there are books, there’s the Groene Waterman.

It’s the second time that Crossing Border lights up our Arenberg Schouwburg with an eclectic mix of prose, poetry and well, punk. But what struck me the most was how laid back this festival was. People were just popping in one gig and out the next, artists were mingling with the mortals and Sam Cutler especially, kept on dropping by to say hi and buy more of his own books. As you do.

Sadly I didn’t see a lot of performances but I heard quite a few: BP Fallon and band (weird guy), Ganglians (way too much hair), Kisses (cheerful poppy beats) and Low, who I did manage to see but who are kinda overrated if you ask me.

Whenever I wasn’t selling books, I was fulfilling the second part of my duties: making sure the authors got to their book singing on time which isn’t easy and always has to be preceded by a little nicotine. Some authors like Sam Cutler, Scroobius Pip (whose performance I regretfully missed), Stephen Vizinczey and even John Cooper Clarke whose books were all out of print making him slightly redundant, were all there out of their own devices. The others, needed a little more help.

First up was DBC Pierre who talked about his alcohol induced past and his amazement when his first novel Vernon God Little won the Booker prize in 2003 and eventually ended talking about his crazy new book Lights out in Wonderland. I haven’t read any of his work but I’m sure going to give it a try seeing as he was very interesting and entertaining.

After the interview, I had to nonchalantly slip backstage aka claw my way through the crowd to eventually end up jumping up and down like an idiot in order to get his attention because he had no idea he had to sign some books. Luckily for me, he was very friendly and complacent after a cigarette which he smoked outside while blabbering about the moonlight as I stood there, freezing.

Next was the highlight of my evening at least, Michael Madsen who was so unbelievably nice and even a little shy, bless him. He was supposed to be interviewed by Anna Luyten about his poetry but Anna soon proved that she wasn’t a match for the big guy. She was unprepared (even called him Richard, twice) and tried to be coy but he wasn’t having any of it.


The interview itself was terrible but god, was it good. Everyone who “knows” Madsen, knows what to expect from him: he doesn’t take any crap, he’s to the point and tells it like it is so Luyten’s pseudo intellectual psycho-babble didn’t exactly agree with him and almost had her in tears at one point but hey, his fans loved it. He also read some of his poetry which actually sounded more like snapshots of certain events and emotions so they weren’t exactly great but when he reads them, it sounds like poetry to me.

Afterwards, I got him and his lovely wife Deanna from stage and took him out for, what else a cigarette, while his wife got some drinks. “Take care of him” she said to me. Well, he’s twice my size but I’ll protect him. Outside he was greeted by some fans and talked out the interview, his future plans as a director and about the great people he’d met at Crossing Border. I hope that includes me.

Back inside he signed lots of books (including mine) and posed for dozen of pictures (several including lil’ old me). It was the perfect end to a great night. Oh if and you're wondering who's in that picture: Sam Cutler, Louis Behre (the organizer) and Madsen duh.