Martin
Pluimers’ “Buurt & Bickels”
Jordaan &
Gouden Reael (March-April 2009)
Centuries
ago ships left the Bickers Island for distant horizons. They found ancient worlds and variously
colored people. Those worlds became our
own, their inhabitants provided us with income and we, dumb Western
white-skins, became filthy rich. The
[Dutch] gables, the beautiful warehouses and the pitch-stained boat building
industry on and around the Bickers Island speak volumes. They shall continue to
do so in the future because the Island and the world no longer fear that which
is different. In this photo-feature Martin Pluimers portrays the inhabitants of
this small, anomalous island in the heart of Amsterdam.
David Lee is an historian and is still dizzy from Barack
Obama[’s victory]. David’s American
heart beats with festive expectation, but he remains on his guard: man’s history is and remains as bitter-sweet
as Amsterdam onions.
David came from Amsterdam to Amsterdam. That’s something only an American can do,
thanks to the early boat builders on the Bickers Island. Since he was old enough to shoot marbles
David lived in New Amsterdam, sometimes also called New York or the Big
Apple. Although his bright eyes are
hampered by near-sightedness, he sought out fascinating panoramic views. He travelled via Odessa [sic] and Groningen to Amsterdam.
There are other, even more earnest similarities between
Barack and David. These would include
their masterly use of words such that everyone understands what they
write. That is a process of patience and
fortitude, and thus includes sweating like a smith hard at work. Instead of steel, Barack and David smith
words into swords. Go take a look in
‘The Wordsmithery’ on the gorgeous Bickersgracht #256. Behind the thick walls and heavy shutters
you’ll find a smithy, but not a dingy one.
It’s more a sort of operation room with clean tools and even lively art
by Bickers Island artists [Charly]
Rood and [Yvonne] Hakkert. The tools in David’s smithy serve to create
and restore words and, just like his president, he is glad to see a multitude
of people wrestle with them, though serenely.
David found his piece of the Island while working as a
“meals on wheels” volunteer, bringing hot dinners to elderly Bickers Islanders.
It was there that he found a place quiet and large enough for like-minded wordsmiths
who can find space at one of his many desks in order to make use of the shared
vocabulary. David’s translation business
is one example of this. In addition to
finding him in The Wordsmithery, he can also be found wandering Amsterdam’s
Western Islands [of which the Bickersgracht is one] relating the history of the
islands and its inhabitants. On March 21st
and April 18th you can join this New Amsterdammer on a tour of the
islands’ surprisingly rich literary history and that of the neighborhood. The near future is smiling upon David; his
‘Wordsmithery’ in Old and New Amsterdam is writing new history in clear,
resounding words. Spring has begun
unscientifically early this year for him on the Bickers Island.
De Woordensmederij [The Wordsmithery]
Bickersgracht
256
www.dewoordensmederij.nl
Amsterdam onions are a local delicacy!
