Literary shopping around the corner
The Zinnenfabriek (Sentence Factory) is more than a store; it is an experience. Upon entering, you are greeted by walls of books and ceilings decorated with hovering papers, and in the cabinets and shelves you will find poems about everyday products such as household items, beauty products, food and clothing. Everywhere you look there are handwritten rolls of rhyming finds, ready to be taken away as personal messages to accompany gifts. In the back of the store, children sit around a large table talking to a word artist, busy creating their own Sinterklaas poem. Meanwhile, at the counter, someone is paying for a poem about a hair dryer.
The Zinnenfabriek is open for one month and offers residents poems as an end-of-the-year gift from the municipality. Marritt Jellema, City Poet of Leeuwarden, is leading the project and works together with various local word artists and volunteers – all recognizable by their vintage factory outfit. The store is open on Friday and Saturday afternoons. The poems are made in different languages by various writers in Leeuwarden: Frisian, Liwwadders, and English. There’s no flat price, but they are offered for sale on a pay-what-you-can system; the customer themselves can choose what the poem is worth to them and how much they can spare. It is also an option – with that same system – to have a poem custom made by one of the word artists in the Zinnenfabriek.
The Zinnenfabriek is a pop-up poetry store started by City Poet Marrit Jellema, in collaboration with the Municipality of Leeuwarden. The store is run by Marrit and her team of word artists. Young and old are welcome to come and poke around between the cabinets and shelves full of surprising texts and original poems.
The Zinnenfabriek is open:
Friday, Nov 22nd: 12:00-17:00
Satuday, Nov 23rd: 12:00-17:00
Languages: Dutch, English, Frisian, Liwwadders