Reflection
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The Soundtrack of Writing
It’s dangerous to reflect once it’s finally going the way you hope. Writing seems like a delicate balance of happiness, frustration and a sense of urgency. Is it me, did something change, or I am I just (finally!) ready to write my PhD, after two-and-a-half years of reading and preparing? Building momentum, struggling through meters…
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Violence at the Playground
On this birthday of Sophie Scholl, having just moved to a country drenched in a history of injustice, it’s time to reflect. On the present. Normally I speak up if injustice is done. I try, make an effort. As justice is something I value highly. Having said that, this doesn’t mean I see all the…
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Why I Watch – Theatre & Me
Lately I’ve been kind of involved in the art we call theatre. Writing, acting. But these past couple of weeks I’ve done none of that, instead I’ve visited a lot of plays. And watching theatre performed right in front of you, is maybe the most tiresome way to be involved. For either the play is…
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Jelle – reactie op het Arctisch Dagboek, Boekenweekessay
Lieve Jelle, Ja, ik begrijp ook wel dat je zo niet een stukje kunt beginnen. Vooral omdat ik je niet ken, of tenminste, degene die ik denk te kennen enkel de ‘Parallelle Jelle’ is. Iemand die ik vijf jaar geleden al ‘kende’ van Moermansk enzo, en nu met Sotsji en een blog en boeken –…
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Optekening van een ervaring: Na de Repetitie & Persona (Toneelgroep Amsterdam)
Een onmogelijk verslag van de aanschouwing van twee toneelstukken samengebracht op één avond. Zonder spoilers, aangezien iedereen deze stukken voor zichzelf moet gaan bekijken. Afgelopen woensdag mocht ik twee juweeltjes aanschouwen, op het toneel gezet door Toneelgroep Amsterdam onder leiding van Ivo van Hove. Twee filmscripts van Ingmar Bergman, twee existentiële drama’s over identiteit, leugen…
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Reflecting on Radical Emission Reduction Conference 2013
This week the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research organised a conference on the need for ‘Radical Emission Reduction’. I was given ten minutes to talk about a philosopher’s take on ‘radical change’ and the consequences for the manner in which we frame responsibility, for both individuals as institutions – in front of around two hundred (social) scientists,…
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Presenting the Impossible
Imagine yourself in a conference hall full of scientists and policy makers. Imagine you are a young woman addressing the crowd and telling them that they (including myself) are a part of the problem. That the fact that they are even thinking about the problem, is keeping it alive and preventing change. And that if they…
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Auto-Didacticus Philosophicus
Four years ago I decided to take matters (my life, my thoughts, my world?) in my own hand. Frustrated with unanswered questions, irrational belief and the fear of averages, I found my way to the library at Haifa University, Israel. A library in which half of the books were in languages I could not read.…
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Priorities and costs
Lately I’ve been reconsidering my priorities. There was a time I was mostly focussed on efficiency, trying to not waste time, fulfilling goals in optimal curves. But it started to bother me, realising that whatever I would try to accomplish, no-body would care whether it was done optimally or not. Graduating within the prescribed time-frame…
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Little Bird…
I’ve started a new phase in my life, as you might already know. So I decided to start with another try of the poem-a-day… the idea is to write a poem every day, very simple. I’ll stick to the 4×4 scheme this time, to spend less time thinking about form, and more on sound and…