Pilot | Buur & Boek: Exploring Connection Through Literature

Buur & Boek was a pilot project by NOORDWOORD and Arts in Health Groningen, focused on the joy of shared reading and creative writing. From October 2025 to March 2026, residents from different neighbourhoods and villages across the province of Groningen came together to read, write, talk, and reflect on short stories, poetry and novels. These gatherings took place in five local communities in familiar and accessible places within each neighbourhood. The groups met bi-weekly in the Korrewegwijk, Beijum, Finsterwolde, Noordlaren and Feerwerd. The groups were guided by four workshop leaders who each bring their own unique background and approach to creative reading and writing.

The goal of the project is to use reading and writing to inspire connection and care in the communities, and encouraging new groups to form. No previous literary experience or nor is preparation necessary to join the groups. Participants from a wide variety of backgrounds join in experiencing ‘shared reading’, creative writing, deep listening, and reflective conversations. 

Arts in Health Groningen lead a bi-weekly learning community to support the four group leaders and project coordinator. The learning community involved peer discussion, reflection, planning, and coaching as needed. The group also discussed scientific literature on the health benefits of reading and writing, to inform practice. Self-care was also addressed, and the ethics of community-based work. 

The Buur & Boek sessions created space for community members to meet one another in new ways. Reading and writing become starting points for reflective conversations, deep attention, and sharing inspiration. Along the way, social connections are built or strengthened. “We meet with neighbours to talk about life through literature and poetry,” one of the workshop leaders explains. “We read and talk, and if people wish, also create. Everything is allowed, nothing is required.” Another workshop leader adds, “It is not about having the same opinion, but about daring to speak and to listen.”

The workshop leaders – Charlotte Beerda, Gemma Jissink, Lieke van den Krommenacker and Willemijn van de Walle – each brought their own experience in literature, performance and community-based work. Curious to learn more about who they are and how they work?

At the end of the pilot, the groups came together for four mini-festivals in their own communities, organized by Boer & Boek’ project coordinator.  At the mini-festivals, participants and leaders shared their experience and discoveries. The mini-festivals were all quite different, with activities ranging from interviews with Dutch authors to poetry readings in open fields, poetry walks, and writing haiku in a cowshed. These moments created space to reflect on the conversations, experiences and connections that had developed over the months.

For Arts in Health Groningen, Buur & Boek is part of a broader programme in which the arts are used to support reflection, dialogue and social connection, and in doing so contribute to well-being. By creating spaces where people can meet around shared curiosity and creativity, Buur & Boek contributes to imagination and a sense of community in everyday life.

Participation in Buur & Boek was free of charge. The project ran from October 2025 to March 2026 and was organised by NOORDWOORD in collaboration with Arts in Health Groningen and local partners in the participating communities. The pilot was made possible with support from the Dutch Foundation for Literature (Nederlands Letterenfonds), VSBfonds, Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie, the Municipality of Groningen, the Province of Groningen, the Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, the University of Groningen, and the National Programme Groningen.

Want to learn more about research literature and well-being?

The effects of reading on wellbeing have been investigated for decades by researchers from the humanities, social sciences and health sciences. Findings suggest that reading is not only a source of knowledge and entertainment, but also contributes to psychological and social health. Reading fiction is often described as a form of mental simulation that exercises social cognition, empathy, and Theory of Mind [1, 2]. These contribute to people's social and psychological wellbeing. For such effects on wellbeing, it is important that people engage with, and reflect on, what they read [3]. Inspired by such research, shared reading programmes have been used to reduce loneliness, start conversations and strengthen the sense of belonging, especially among people from different backgrounds or generations [e.g. 4; 5].

Expressive and reflective writing—such as diaries, short stories, or letters—can improve both mental and physical health as research in psychology and the health sciences highlights [6, 7, 8]. There is even evidence that points to writing reducing depressive [9] and PTS(D) symptoms [10] and that it allows people to better deal with grief [11]. For writing workshops to support wellbeing, it is important to create a trusting environment[12].

References:

1. Dodell-Feder, D., & Tamir, D. I. (2018). Fiction reading has a small positive impact on social cognition: A meta-analysis. Journal of experimental psychology. General, 147(11), 1713–1727. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000395 
2. Oatley K. (2016). Fiction: Simulation of Social Worlds. Trends in cognitive sciences, 20(8), 618–628. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.06.002 
3. Carney, J., & Robertson, C. (2022). Five studies evaluating the impact on mental health and mood of recalling, reading, and discussing fiction. PLoS ONE, 17(4), e0266323. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266323
4. Billington, J., Carroll, J., Davis, P., Healey, C., & Kinderman, P. (2013). A literature-based intervention for older people living with dementia. Perspectives in Public Health, 136(3), 139–146. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913912470052 
5. Longden, E., Davis, P., Carroll, J., Billington, J., & Kinderman, P. (2015). Shared reading: Assessing the intrinsic value of literature. Medical Humanities, 41(2), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2015-010704 
6. Valtonen J. (2021). The Health Benefits of Autobiographical Writing: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. The Journal of medical humanities, 42(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-020-09631-9 
7. Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: the health benefits of narrative. Journal of clinical psychology, 55(10), 1243–1254. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1243::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-N
8. Toepfer, S. M., & Walker, K. (2009). Letters of gratitude: Improving well-being through expressive writing. Journal of Writing Research, 1(3), 181-198. https://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2009.01.03.1 
9. Reinhold, M., Bürkner, P.-C., & Holling, H. (2018). Effects of expressive writing on depressive symptoms: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25, e12224. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12224
10. Pavlacic, J. M., Buchanan, E. M., Maxwell, N. P., Hopke, T. G., & Schulenberg, S. E. (2019). A meta-analysis of expressive writing on posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and quality of life. Review of General Psychology, 23(2), 230–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268019831645 
11. Den Elzen, K., Neimeyer, R. A., & Lengelle, R. (Eds.). (2024). Living with loss: From grief to wellbeing (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003460657 
12. Wiltshire, K. (2022). Using the short story as a tool for well-being in arts and health workshops for the NHS staff. Short Fiction in Theory & Practice, 12 (The Health of the Short Story: Part 2), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1386/fict_00062_1 

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