MENSEN ZEGGEN DINGEN X WRITERS UNLIMITED FESTIVAL

Rosabelle Illes (Aruba) is an artist, writer, and performer. She is the author of three poetry and short story collections and co-author of the multilingual children’s book Hartje. Her work has been published in international journals, and she has performed at literary festivals around the world, including in Colombia, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and New York City. Rosabelle’s art often explores personal enigmas, with meditation revealing insights that manifest as poetry. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Leiden University and serves as an assistant professor at the University of Aruba.

In her upcoming book Penmanship (2025), her passions for psychology and poetry converge as she celebrates the written word in its purest form. The book, which features handwritten pieces, sparks a conversation about the scientifically proven benefits of handwriting and demonstrates how poetry can transcend the traditional boundaries of the page to be heard, seen, and carried.

George Abraham (USA) is a Palestinian-American poet, performance artist, and writer. Their poetry debut, Birthright (2020), won the Arab American Book Award and the Big Other Book Award in Poetry and was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. They are also the author of the chapbooks al youm (2017) and the specimen’s apology (2019). Currently, they serve as the executive editor of Mizna, a biannual print magazine, and Mizna Online, a digital platform for literary and multidisciplinary works critically reflecting on the current realities of the MENA region and beyond.

Abraham is co-editing with Noor Hindi the forthcoming anthology Heaven Looks Like Us (2025), a collection of Palestinian English-language poetry from around the world.

Sabina Lukovic knows exactly how to captivate her audience with her compelling texts. She has performed with us in every city and at every festival, including Solar, Gentse Feesten, and Lowlands. Sabina is the queen of punchlines. She has a unique ability to portray situations in a way that gets under your skin, inevitably giving you goosebumps.

Her work delves into themes of vulnerability, mental health, and rising like a phoenix. An indispensable force in the Mensen Zeggen Dingen team, Sabina travels everywhere with us, leaving audiences in awe. Because that’s what she does—blow people away.

Gary Benjamin Gravenbeek, known as “Duimalot” was born on August 30, 1995, in Utrecht. He is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in music, theater, and dance. At the age of seven, he began rapping and dancing, sparking a lifelong passion for self-expression. During high school, he pursued dance as his formal education while remaining active in the hip-hop scene, earning accolades such as seven victories at the “Basement Battles.”

His theater career boasts achievements like the Zilveren Krekel for Bloedlink and roles as both choreographer and performer in Trojan Wars by Het Nationaal Theater. As a member of Mensja Collective and The Underdogz Crew, Gary continues to expand his versatility.

With the release of his debut single, Zicht, in 2021, Gary shifted his focus to music while remaining active on both theater and music stages. His work is defined by three core principles: creativity, musicality, and impulsivity.

Vulnerable and sincere, the work of spoken word artist, poet, and host Hasan Gök resonates deeply. From his personal emotional world, he shares a societal voice that often remains unseen. He brings to light unheard stories from the diverse worlds that intersect in his own life: the son of a Turkish father and Kurdish mother, raised in Dutch society, queer, Muslim, and a lover of both the spotlight and the stillness of the night.

In these in-between spaces, Hasan seamlessly claims all these identities, yet his work reflects the complex emotions that come with them. His search for a place in society transforms into words and performances that can both confront and invite. His art becomes an ultimate act of resistance against the stereotypes and prejudices that persist in various communities.

Hasan feels a deep urgency to connect people, sharing heartfelt, unfiltered, poetic, and intimate work that captures universal human emotions and experiences—ones that are often felt but rarely spoken aloud.