Jan Brokken talks to Gwenan Edwards

Award-winning writer Jan Brokken mixes stories of his own travels to the Balkans with a look at the cultural richness and social diversity of the region and tales of personal tragedy over eight centuries.

Brokken says a remarkable number of talented people have come from this small region, many of them of Jewish origin. He looks at 20 who left their mark on world art and culture including filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein and philosopher Hannah Arendt and contemporary figures such as violinist Gidon Kremer, composer Arvo Pärt and dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Their lives were often overshadowed by sadness and loss. Brokken also tells the stories of some less well-known lives and of the whole Baltic region and its changing fortunes.

Brokken is a writer of fiction, travel and literary non-fiction. His books have been translated into 20 languages and include The Rainbird, The Blind Passengers, My Little Madness, In the House of the Poet, The Reprisal and The Cossack Garden. His awards include the Golden Quill, for significant contribution to Dutch writing and culture, and the Bruce Chatwin Lifetime Achievement Award. Here he talks to journalist and former BBC News presenter, Gwenan Edwards, whose credits include the BBC Proms, BBC World, BBC News Channel and Watchdog.

Part of New Dutch Writing, presented by the Dutch Foundation for Literature.