From an early age, I wrote poems in which the trees oversaw the world’s unfolding events, where every now and then the sun lost its vigor, and where a bird always pops up between the lines. So I don’t think I have changed all too much. I also liked to paint, I made many a watercolor and when I was a teen, I fell in love with gouache. I painted on anything I could afford, mostly wood or plasterboard, which were easier to come by for me than other kinds of media.
In 2000, I was an ambassador for “Kunstbende,” a national talent competition for youth between 13 and 18 years old. I spoke about it on local radio and, of course, I was on stage to perform some of my poems. I had a few of my paintings on display as well. (See photo) One of those works (pictured on this page) was chosen to be displayed at the ‘Verzetsmuseum’ in Amsterdam in the exhibition where a number of ‘Kunstbende’ pieces were featured.
In 2005 I made what was going to be my last piece for a while, and by then I had moved on to mixed media. (See photo). After a hiatus, I began producing texts for theater plays along with poetry that I bundled into my first publication, “Oppervlaktespanning,” in 2016. Since then, I have been solely focused on writing.
