Skip to main content

De Paardenbloemkamer

My first dutch language publication is out!

Mijn eerste Nederlandstalige publikate.  De eerst van een serie fabels.

"De Paardenbloemkamer"

A short children's story in the book 

"4321....Lees: Verdwalen in Verhalen" 

The book is the fruit of a wonderful project by the Lionsclub Venlo, aimed at encouraging children to read and write... and most importantly, to imagine.

Children from 27 schools in Venlo were asked for story ideas.
43 ideas were chosen.
Those were given to writers to inspire them to make a story, 
and then to artists to make an illustration.

The result, a wonderful book full of imagination.
Venlo might be a little city, but it it's een stedje with big ideas.




Photo from the book launch in Domani, Venlo on 23 November, 2016
with Tristan Thijsen (our idea-maker) and Floor Kurstjens (illustrator)



De Paardenbloemkamer: is a story about dreaming, facing one's fears, and growing up.  The title means: The dandelion Room.  It's all in one word, because one can do that in dutch ... you can't imagine how long one word can be...

So, Paardenbloem means Dandelion, but if you break the word in two you get:
"Paarden" and "Bloem."  
Paarden means horses, and bloem means flower .... (yes, my love of lamguage has found a good outlet in Dutch!)  
So... the horse-flower... might give you an idea where my story flies to... but I won't say too much ... you have to read it.  
"But it's in Dutch you might say.".. Indeed it is... one day I might just translate it... till then, you just have to sit with the curiosity. 






Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A letter: Interfaith marriage and crime

Where do I get my inspiration? Different places and times: Sometimes it's from personal experiences and events, sometimes it's from stories I hear or read, with a bit of pepper and salt. Sometimes it comes from nature, dreams, and news reports. Sometimes inspiration just comes, from a place unknown to me. Usually, it's a combination of all those things. Below is a paragraph from my latest performance, "In the Lost and Found", followed by the letter that inspired it. (I apologize for taking so long to publish it Leila .) The letter is set against the reality that in Jordan, as in several Arab countries, a woman cannot transfer her citizenship to her husband (while the man of course can). "They tell me I will lose my inheritance if I marry a non Muslim. He has to convert, otherwise the marriage is false, the kids are bastards, and the wife is an apostate, her "blood is permitted" - with no punishment to the killer. I am obliged to give my husban...
1 comment
Read more

Today's headlines: A rant

I wake up to sound of stupid tunes blasting outside my window. It's not an ice cream van-it's much louder and it comes around more frequently. If you've been to Jordan you know this phenomenon. It's not a riddle, but a pick-up truck selling cylinders filled with gas. I wonder about the driver, listening to the same tune all day. He's probably used to it, but it must be messing up his brain. I get out of bed, cursing. But he's only trying to make a living. The cost of gas keeps rising. I drive into traffic and try to block the honking. I stop to fill up gas After driving off, I realize, "the guy at the pump just ripped me off." I curse again. He's probably underpaid. Last night they said the temperature today will be dropping "expected rain showers, god willing" Today, it's hot, and the plants on the balcony are covered with dust No water in the tank to clean them up I don't know who to curse. I check my email to find forwards a...
2 comments
Read more

Challenging Tradition in a Traditional Society #1

There are some traditions that are worth upholding, but many have collected thick layers of dust so opaque that we can no longer see what was once beneath them. We mistake the dust for the essence, incessantly complaining about a'raf and wajibat, the rights and wrongs of our forefathers...but we play along to avoid ridicule and choose the chains of cowardice, prejudice, and misconception. Ignorance. I am not saying that all traditions are outdated and useless-far from it, in our Arab culture are jewels and treasures, and I am the first to call for preserving them. But let us stop for a moment and consider what we are heeding, rather than following blindly like grazing sheep. Sheep and goats: I am reminded of kindergarden and a song we learnt in school. The teacher would walk around the classroom singing: Ya Ganamati . And we'd respond: Ma Ma . ...Ghannou waraya : Ma Ma ..and so on and so forth. Very endearing, but also very telling. We grow up, Ma Ma-ing until we reach the gra...
1 comment
Read more