Dutch Author to Share Insights Into Tulip Bulb Trade
Every May, thousands of visitors flock to Holland as the tulips bloom across the city. But how many know the story of how the bulbs beneath the surface — the worldwide supply of which the Netherlands produces more than 75 percent — are grown and how they were first brought from the Netherlands to America?
On Thursday, May 7, Dutch author Anne-Gine Goemans will present a lecture at the Holland Museum exploring the fascinating history of the tulip bulb trade. The lecture will be held in the museum’s Spark!Lab from 7 – 8:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, but space is limited so registration is required via the museum’s website.
Goemans is the author of the award-winning novel Ziekzoekers, a compelling story of a Dutch bulb-growing family and the struggle for succession
within the family business. The novel also explores the history of the first Dutch
bulb traders who traveled to America to build an international flower trade. After
its publication in 2007, the book received the Anton Wachter Prize for best Dutch
debut.
The novel draws on the author’s personal experience as well: Goemans grew up in the oldest bulb-growing region of the Netherlands where her family owned a flower bulb packaging factory. Her father regularly traveled to the United States for business.
In addition to discussing the story behind her work, Goemans will offer a glimpse into the research for her upcoming novel, which is set partly in Holland, Michigan, and inspired by the town’s rich history of Dutch immigration.
Since the release of Ziekzoekers, Goemans has published several more critically acclaimed books, most recently the novel Wondermond and Mr. G Refuses Care, a nonfiction account of her father's struggle with dementia. Honolulu King, Goemans's third novel, is being made into a film that will be released in theaters in 2027. Her novel Gliding Flight was widely translated, won several international awards, and was praised in Kirkus Reviews as “a funny, tenderhearted book reminiscent of the movie Little Miss Sunshine.” Copies of her debut novel will be available for purchase at the event.
The event is sponsored by Hope College’s Van Raalte Institute, the Holland Museum, Nelis’ Dutch Village, Tulip Time, and Windmill Island Gardens. For more information, please contact the Holland Museum at 616-796-3329.