Mina Witteman – author | editor | teacher of creative writing

Amsterdam View: An Orange-clad View

Posted on July 14, 2010

Last Tuesday Amsterdam got surprised by one of the first actions of the newly installed mayor. Where the acting mayor had promised the people to pay tribute to the Dutch soccer team with a mass celebration on Museumplein and – but only if they would win the World Cup! – a canal cruise, the new kid on the block decided to honor the Dutch team with a canal cruise anyway. Strike while the iron is hot, he must have thought, that new kid.
Of course he anticipated opposition to his plan, but he is a smart cookie, that new kid and he threw some orange dust in our eyes: it was not to honor the team, it was to spread the risks and the masses coming to our fine city.

The new kid made his point: in Amsterdam foul play and fair loss is a win.

Foul play and fair loss gets rewarded in Amsterdam

I hope Prelutsky will forgive me if I freely quote him: ‘That new kid’s really bad. I don’t care for him at all.’

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Amsterdam Views, Books, The Views

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Dutch View: A Wedding in IJmuiden

Posted on July 12, 2010

Perfect day for a wedding

The venue was unusual: beach pavilion Zeezicht (Sea View) in IJmuiden. A wooden pavilion, built on high poles with magnificent views on one of the widest beaches in the Netherlands, on the IJmuiden jetties and the sea. The day was perfect for a wedding: bright blue skies, a glorious sun, lots of flowers and the air filled with happiness. It was perfect as it was, but it got even better. In the Netherlands we have an expression that says that your Prince Charming will arrive on a white horse. This groom arrived on a white horse and swept away his foxy lady in her golden gown to live happily ever after.

So much happiness is good, but I am always on the look-out for twists and turns. Half way the party I wandered off to find some silence and inspiration in the dunes. I found silence and only minutes later inspiration, when I stumbled upon a hidden German defense bunker. The bunker, a silent remnant of the Atlantikwall – the German WWII defense line – was barely visible as it lay buried in a hollow in the dunes. A small corner, worn-out by decades of rain and shine, was the only concrete proof of its existence. I circled it, but could not find an entrance. It reminded me of a newspaper article, just a few lines, about the police discovering a weed plantation in a bunker and I knew instantly where my protagonist in An Accidental Death, my new YA novel, was heading…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, Dutch Views, The Views, YA books

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Amsterdam View: A Writer on the IJ

Posted on July 9, 2010

Amsterdam's finest on the look-out

Yesterday, I took my writer’s residence out biking to Amsterdam-Noord, that part of Amsterdam that usually gets treated as if it is parted from the main city by an ocean rather than by that former bay that is now known as Amsterdam’s bustling waterfront. I was on my way to my friend Martin, trainer – advisor – actor, who promised to help me out finding a new presentation formula for my school visits.
I missed the ferry by seconds and had some time to kill waiting for the next one, when I spotted Amsterdam’s finest on the quay. My writer’s mind revved right up. What was Amsterdam’s finest doing on the waterfront? Were they on the look-out? On the look-out for what? Pickpockets? It seemed an unusual place for such a look-out. Drugs? There must be hundreds of better spots in the city for that.
I decided on dead bodies. It was no surprise that my mind wandered off to corpses that quickly. I am writing a Young Adult novel and got a dead body on my hands. Those cops at the waterfront showed me the way out. Dead bodies turn up in the Amsterdam waters with clock-like regularity. I am sure Amsterdam’s finest will not mind another corpse, even though it is just a fictitious one.

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Amsterdam Views, The Views, YA books

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Arizonan View: Tsé Bit’Aí

Posted on July 3, 2010

Tsé Bit'Aí, the Rock with Wings

This was the first view at that magnificent monolith the Diné call Tsé Bit’Aí, or the Rock with Wings. Hiking high up in the Chuska Mountains I could see why legend tells these are the petrified remains of a giant bird. It is said that this is the bird that brought the Diné from the north to the Dinetah, their current homeland. It crashed here, in the middle of a rock desert in Four Corners and turned to stone.

Getting closer to Tsé Bit’Aí I encountered some of the more gruesome sides of this beautiful land. Bones, bleached by the unrelenting sun, and left on red earth reminded me that life and death were ever so close to each other. The bones also reminded me of the Diné legend of Tsé Ninájálééh, Bird Monsters, that nested on the peak of Tsé Bit’Aí. These Tsé Ninájálééh fed on human flesh and I hesitated hiking further and closer to the rock. You just never know.

But, when I plucked up courage and crossed the desert, I was rewarded with an eery experience. Tsé Bit’Aí is not just spectacular in its beauty, its magnitude overpowers you in an spine-chilling sort of way. Words, even spoken in the softest whisper, echo in that multitude of caves and crevices, and come back to you as if a hidden crowd of thousands call out to you, luring you closer and up to that peak where the Tsé Ninájálééh wait for you to feast on your flesh.

Tsé Bit'Aí or The Rock With Wings

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, Children's books, The Views, Views Abroad

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Arizonan View: Spider Woman

Posted on June 30, 2010

Tséyi, Navajo Nation

Some time ago I took my writer’s residence to the Dinetah. The Dinetah is the homeland of the Diné, the People, a.k.a. the Navajo. It lies between the four sacred mountains: Tsisnaasjini’ – Dawn or White Shell Mountain in the East (Blanca Peak, Colorado), Tsoodzil – Blue Bead or Turquoise Mountain in the South (Mount Taylor, New Mexico), Doko’oosliid – Abalone Shell Mountain in the West (San Francisco Peaks, Arizona) and Dibé Nitsaa – Big Mountain Sheep or Obsidian Mountain in the North (Hesperus Mountain, Colorado).

Tsé Na'ashjéé'ii

At first sight the Dinetah seems a callous rock desert where the living is harsh, but if you look closely you will find myths and legends in every nook and cranny of this strikingly red land. One hot and muggy afternoon I was hiking when the ground unexpectedly seemed to disappear, revealing a stunning canyon: Tséyi or Inside the Rock. I hiked down into the canyon when out of nowhere the darkest shadow fell over me, as if Thunderbird blackened the skies with his gigantic wings. And with each wingbeat a thunderclap roared through the canyon, ricochetting off the cliff walls. A heavy rain, chasing me to higher grounds, flash flooded Tséyi. Seeking shelter in a narrow cave I could not but stand in awe of Thunderbird and his mythical powers. It was in that cave that I knew I had to write about the native myths and legends, it was in that cave that The Sun Spirit, the first volume of the tetralogy Warriors of the Sun, was born.

Tobadzischini and Nayenezgani, the Twin Warriors

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, Children's books, The Views, Views Abroad

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Amsterdam View: A Summer’s Day

Posted on June 28, 2010

What would you do if you found yourself in Amsterdam on a beautiful summer’s day? You could go biking. Yes, by all means. Biking along the canals would be fun, navigate your way around herds of out-of-towners, run red lights on your way to the red lights, slalom the ‘Amsterdammertjes’ on the sidewalks to let those skillful but ever hasty taxi drivers pass by. Yes, you could go biking. Or you could go for a stroll in Vondelpark, find yourself a teeny-weeny spot in between what the dogs and the ducks left the park, stretch out and take a nap, let your thoughts trail away on thick clouds of weed smoke that drift through Vondelpark on a summer’s day like this.

Parked at Herengracht

But if the view from your writer’s residence tells you that someone just parked his kayak right by your bike, you know that you are not supposed to go pedaling along the canals or go napping in the park. Boating is the word. So, you put on your cap, hop on your boat and set sail. You sit back and enjoy the view.

The Seven Bridges

Boating is, no doubt, the most awesome way to explore Amsterdam. Out on the water you have all the time in the world to admire the canals, the bridges, the boats and the houses. If you glide under the Seven Bridges of Reguliersgracht you may think yourself in another era.

'No Parking' sign

You have ample time to consider the sometimes rather peculiar ways of the citizens of Amsterdam. It is common knowledge that they are not always the most law-abiding people, but that they brush aside no-parking signs, no, that they mock no-parking signs…

Helpful steps

You don’t have to worry that, if you need to step ashore for a moment, you won’t be able to climb the quay. The people of Amsterdam are resourceful and they leave you all kinds of helpful things.

Superman!

And you most certainly don’t have to worry about anything, because Superman watches over you at all times!

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Amsterdam Views, The Views

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