Diary of a Bad Year by Coetzee
In Diary of a Bad Year, Coetzee narrates the story of an elderly writer who meets a young woman in the communal laundry room and asks her to type out his essays. The book itself is interlaced with these essays…
Zwarte Piet / Black Pete
It’s Sinterklaastijd in Holland. Literally this means “The period of Saint Nicolas” – not to be confused with Santa Claus. In reality it’s an excuse for throwing all dietary restrictions out of the window. Children and adults alike are consuming…
Short Story + Essay (Translated)
The French magazine Deshima published a personal essay and a short story of mine in French translations. The essay “Beauté” is about the differences between French and Dutch people on how they perceive, value, create, and stimulate beauty in all its variations. The…
Magical thinking
On the ever inspiring TED site, I recently viewed the talk ‘The origins of pleasure’ in which Psychologist Paul Bloom investigates our love of art and wonders why we like an original painting better than a forgery. In his opinion…
Symposium (Jolimont 6)
Or what I took away from the mountain. The evening began with a fire. Under the doubtful eyes of four city men, our sturdy Swiss host constructed a pyramid of twigs. He showed no fear of the rain clouds overhead.…
Call and answer – the pure joy of discovering a magic trick
It’s a sunny day in the Jardin du Luxembourg. I’m walking on one of the raised balustraded terraces along a row of tall trees. Up in a branch, a bird is calling out. It is hidden from sight by the…