Language: Dutch
We need to go back and listen to this voice–NOW!
The Verwonderkamer is an annual residency project where Flemish and Northern Dutch writers team up on a special project. This year, we’ve chosen four creators: Zindzi Tillot Owusu, Mona Thijs, Charlotte Westra, and Jaimy Hindriks. Their goal is to bring the forgotten voice of Ella Wassenaer back to life. Wassenaer, who in 1955 was one of the few female Frisian poets to experiment with her collection Reade Runen, was criticized by reviewers and so fell out of the literary canon. It’s unfair to say that Ella was just a pioneer in form. She was also a poet who dared to put women at the center of a highly paternalized, Frisian environment. As part of Explore the North’s Lost Voices theme, her work will be given new life. This voice deserves to be heard, and it’s high time we did so!
During their residency in September, the four creators immersed themselves in Ella’s world to create a performance inspired by her work. They got help from Albertina Soepboer, who knows a lot about Ella’s work. Zindzi, Mona, Charlotte, and Jaimy not only honor Ella’s poetry, but they also give a voice to all the forgotten women writers from then and now.
Op vrijdag 8 november is De Verwonderkamer ook in Brussel te zien op het festival We zullen doorgaan van DeBuren.
De Verwonderkamer is a talent development project of Flemish-Dutch House deBuren (Brussels) and Explore the North. Every year, Frisian and Flemish writers get to know each other during a residency in Leeuwarden. Together they create a new (stage) work that is presented during Explore the North Festival. The first Verwonderkamer took place in 2019.
Charlotte Westra (2004) is an artist and writer. She’s been doing that ever since she could think for herself. In her work, she expresses a lot of grief—about everything from heartache to scrap paper. Everything lost is also missed. She writes bleeding-heart lyrics with a (bitter)sweet aftertaste—preferably without beating around the bush.
Mona Thijs (1999) is a master of words. She writes prose and stageplays, creates theater shows and has a great love for socially-active projects. Her short stories have appeared in literary magazines such as DW B and Deus Ex Machina. Mona is constantly looking for new forms for her words. In the theater production Blueberries leave bruises on the skin, which she co-directed with Astrid De Haes, she explored the tension between movement and text. She is currently directing the social-artistic performance De Wakkeren, which will premiere on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Zindzi Tillot Owusu (1997) lives in Brussels and studies Writing for Performance at the LUCA School of arts. She is a member of feminist writing collective Hyster-X and editor of the literary oil rig Kluger Hans. In recent years, she primarily worked as a poet and performer. Nowadays, she also works with prose, video art, and directing. Her work could be described as melancholic ‘fever dreams’ with a sharp edge.
Jaimy Hindriks (1992) wore her shirt inside-out and forgot her lines in her 8th grade school musical. 20 years later, her life still feels inside-out, but now she writes her own lines instead of forgetting them. She has turned not understanding life into an art form, creating absurd scenarios. Her lyrics are an Ode to remarkable people. She performed at such events as Vurige Tongen Ruigoord, Dichters in de Prinsentuin, and Dichters in het donker. She organizes other events and gives poetry workshops to children.
