This is not an immutable inventory of so-called required reading. It is not a stone tablet meant to last for all eternity. Instead, the canon is a menu that reviews today’s tastes in relation to the literary fare of our past.
The canon is a guide, an inspiration: nothing more than that but certainly nothing less.
The canon is an important link in a policy to promote reading. It forms a guide for teachers, book clubs, librarians, publishers, theatre makers, culture ministers, television makers and other readers.
The canon indicates the books that are regarded in Flanders as essential works of Dutch literature.
