De Hemel Likken

Sanne van Balen received a grant to write a new book. De Hemel Likken takes place in the year when a sculpture along the A6 highway called De Tong blows over. After a severe storm, the sculpture ended up standing crooked and was taken to a shed for repairs. There it still lies, and it itself has no say in its own future. In that same year, Nesia is confronted with becoming older than her mother, an age she never expected to reach. What happens to you when your existence comes loose at the seams? What do you tell yourself? Where do you find footing?

Sanne is a visual artist and writer. She studied Dutch Literature at the University of Amsterdam and Image & Language at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. Previously, she published work in Internet Gids and via Hard//Hoofd, among others. With a literary installation, she participated in Oerol 2025, and in 2026 she is writing her debut.