Passion for reading brings vulnerable people together
Every week, a group of people join Silvie Moors to read and talk about literature. But De Dagen is no ordinary book club
Shared experience
De Dagen is a non-profit based in Antwerp that uses shared reading experiences to bring people together and create a community, solidarity and, sometimes, healing. Its founder and beating heart is Silvie Moors, whose passion for books and art inspired her to share great literature with people who aren’t usually considered the “literati” of society.
After studying literature at Antwerp University, Moors (pictured) worked for Jeugd Literatuur (Youth Literature) and for the Stichting Lezen (Reading Foundation). But then, she says, “I really wanted to do something on my own, because I sing, I do theatre, I like to write. I thought, maybe I have to start something where I can combine all the things that I like.”
One of her early projects was in the psychiatric ward at Sint-Maarten Hospital in Mechelen. Although she had no previous experience working with psychiatric patients, she worked with the staff to try out different things.
Turning the page
Along with several friends, she read aloud, sang to them, led discussions and performed plays. She found that she enjoyed this kind of work: hands-on, directly involved with people, doing what she loved and sharing it with others.
Then in 2012, she followed a course to become a “shared reading practitioner”. The training was offered by the British charitable organisation The Reader, which brings shared reading – an interactive experience with a certain text – to disadvantaged and vulnerable people in nursing homes, prisons, community centres and other settings.
Shared reading brings people together, and very quickly we talk about the real essence of life, like death and sorrow
“This for me was really a key moment,” Moors says. “I love people, and I’m passionate about literature, and I wasn't organising campaigns or something from a distance, but sitting around a table with 10 people, reading aloud and talking about what I love.”
The idea behind shared reading is that people benefit simply from listening to great literature as it’s read aloud in a group. The participants follow along with a printed text as it’s read aloud by a facilitator, and there’s no pressure or obligation to respond. But inevitably, the books and poems themselves inspire discussion and sharing.
“Shared reading brings people together, and very quickly we talk about the real essence of life, like death and sorrow – big themes that you don’t normally talk about when you have just met someone,” Moors explains.
Literary merits
Shared reading is not intended as an impulse for literary analysis or intellectual discussion, she emphasises. It’s not meant to be educational. Instead, the texts are a jumping-off point for people to talk about their own feelings, experiences, hopes and fears.
At the same time, she says, “what we read is very important. We read texts of high quality like Murakami, Kafka, Rilke, Paul Auster, Flemish authors. That means we have a high quality of conversation as well.”
Although these shared reading groups are open to anyone, there is an effort to include those who aren’t already well-versed in literature. “It’s especially for them, because you don’t have to know anything, and you don’t have to register or pay,” explains Moors. “And afterwards there is soup – that’s very important.”
De Dagen started out with one small group of readers at ’t Werkhuys in Antwerp’s Borgerhout district and now conducts shared reading sessions in six locations in Antwerp, Brussels and Mechelen every week. They partner with social service organisations and mental health practitioners to reach vulnerable and underprivileged people in the community.
Getting cosy
Other initiatives include Warm Book Evenings during which Moors talks with a well-known Flemish author, and theatre outings to Het Paleis in Antwerp and KVS in Brussels. In both cases, the shared reading groups use texts by the guest author or read from the play beforehand.
A new project involves reading in languages other than Dutch. One of De Dagen’s shared reading practitioners is from Chile and teaches integration classes for new Spanish-speaking immigrants in Antwerp. At the end of a recent class, Moors joined, and they did shared reading in both Spanish and Dutch.
“This is an experiment that I would like to do further, not just with Spanish-speaking people but also with people who speak Arabic,” says Moors.
It’s something that was in him that could grow because he got confidence from the group and from his passion for literature
Now that De Dagen has grown, Moors is no longer able to lead all the groups and relies on 20-odd colleagues to share the workload. Some of her fellow shared reading practitioners started out as reading group participants themselves.
Moors looks for people who have potential, despite their perceived limitations, and gives them the training and support to grow. One of her most valued volunteers is a man who came to a shared reading group after being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.
He was unable to hold down a regular job and had trouble relating to other people. But Moors recognised his love of books, his intelligence and capacity for organising, and gradually he came to be indispensable to her.
“He’s more open to people, he can communicate much better. It’s something that was in him that could grow because he got confidence from the group and from his passion for literature. It’s so beautiful. That’s why I really love this work.”
Photo: Koen Broos
