Four Young Writers Honor a Frisian Female Pioneer
De Verwonderkamer is an annual residency project in which Flemish and Northern Dutch writers—commissioned by deBuren and Explore the North—collaborate on a unique performance. For this edition, Zindzi Tillot Owusu, Mona Thijs, Charlotte Westra, and Jaimy Hindriks bring the forgotten voice of Frisian poet Ella Wassenaer back to life.
Ella Wassenaer, who in 1955 was one of the few female Frisian poets to experiment boldly with her collection Reade Runen, was unfairly criticized by reviewers at the time. Not only was Ella a true pioneer in terms of form, she was also a poet pur sang who dared to place women at the center of her work within a strongly paternalistic Frisian environment. Four young literary makers immersed themselves in her world, and from that space, they wrote a performance presenting their interpretations of her work. They were guided in this process by, among others, Albertina Soepboer—poet, writer, and expert on Ella’s work.
Zindzi, Mona, Charlotte, and Jaimy not only honor Ella’s poetry; they also give a powerful voice to all the forgotten writing women of the past and present. It’s high time this voice is truly heard—albeit retroactively!
This performance is part of the Explore the North Hub. From June 13 to 22, we will present works by talents from our production house across the island. Explore the North is a production house and festival based at Podium Explore in Leeuwarden.
De Verwonderkamer is a talent development program by the Flemish-Dutch House deBuren (Brussels) and Explore the North. Each year, Frisian and Flemish writers meet during a residency in Leeuwarden. Together, they create a new (stage) work that is presented during the Explore the North Festival and is often also performed at Oerol.
