Utrecht literary canon

The list of authors who write or wrote in Utrecht is endless and has nearly a thousand names. In 2008 'De Utrechtse Literaire Canon' (the Utrecht’s Literary Canon) was brought together; an overview of one hundred important writers in the history of Utrecht literature. In the composition of this list, the attention was paid to literary quality, historical importance and the 'Utrecht content': did an author write an important work in Utrecht? Does that work relate to Utrecht? And is or was he or she active in literary life of the city?

The Utrecht canon was compiled by Roland Fagel and Hans Heessen from the Utrecht Literary Activities Foundation. On 30 November 2008 a 'tribunal' took place in which connoisseurs, citizens and outsiders could make their amendments known to the ranking. Influenced by pleas from poet Alexis de Roode, writer Arjaan van Nimwegen, dr. Suzan van Dijk and drs. Werner Gelderblom and with former rector magnificus of UU Willem-Hendrik Gispen as 'president of the court', the definitive canon was established.