{"id":1883,"date":"2025-05-08T16:42:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T14:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ambassade-hotel-nl.ont.stuurlui.dev\/?post_type=blog&p=1883"},"modified":"2025-06-06T15:13:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T13:13:07","slug":"bette-westera","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/ambassade-hotel-nl.ont.stuurlui.dev\/fr\/blog\/bette-westera\/","title":{"rendered":"Bette Westera"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/h1>\n

Bette Westera<\/h1>\n

Bette Westera (b.1958) writes poems, songs, stories and informative books for children about various subjects. She has received numerous prizes, including the Woutertje Pieterse Prize twice, six Silver Pencils, two Golden Pencils, two Golden Poetry Medals and a Book Lion. In 2021, she wrote the children\u2019s Book Week Gift.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

All is Shut<\/h3>\n

All gives way, all gives up
\nAll is split, all is shut
\nAll sings, and all plays
\nAll is shut, all split up<\/p>\n

On Thursday 12 and Friday 13 March 2020, I visit the M\u00fcnchner B\u00fccherschau Junior, at the invitation of my German publisher, Susanna Rieder Verlag. By way of greeting, I hug my German publisher friends, Susanna and Johannes, without reserve. I have a busy schedule, but we soon hear that various schools have cancelled. They don\u2019t want their pupils to travel by public transport to the location of the B\u00fccherschau. The schools that are able to walk the distance are still coming.<\/p>\n

When we say goodbye on the Friday, we hug each other again; it would have felt strange not to. Luckily, the train is still running, although it\u2019s remarkably empty for a Friday afternoon. Two days later, all of the hospitality venues in the Netherlands hastily have to close their doors.<\/p>\n

The months that follow feel like as an oasis of peace. Suddenly, I have time to walk, to read and to try out new recipes. Requests come in for films of me reading, and other digital alternatives for contact with my readership. I say yes a few times, but all too soon, I\u2019m fed up with the reading selfies. Why not just accept that some things aren\u2019t possible for the moment?<\/p>\n

I write poems about the good sense and nonsense of hoarding toilet paper, soft toy drums, holidaying in the back yard, and closed zoos. Barbara de Wolf illustrates these and we use them to make cheerful Corona cards, which we send digitally and by ordinary post. I enjoy the solidarity I can feel all around me, and which has now transformed into division. I cherish the social contacts that are possible: walking in the fresh air (often, because it\u2019s lovely weather) and Zoom drinks parties with friends (occasionally, with white wine and vegetarian deep-fried ragout balls). I swim in seas of time and feel the space that this gives me in my mind. Meanwhile, my diary is filling up again. Good? I\u2019m not entirely sure\u2026<\/p>\n

The elephant\u2019s bored and the lion\u2019s yawning lazily.
\nThe spider monkey hangs half-hearted from a thick rubber band.
\nThe warthogs are asleep, and the badgers are catching up on their zzzs.
\nThe lynxes stroll listlessly, shuffling through the sand.
\nThrough the bars of their cage, the tigers peer pitifully.
\nThe polar bear sticks to his lair, while the hare runs aimlessly.
\nThe baboon is languidly picking fleas off her mate.
\nThe rooster\u2019s slept late and the owl has nothing to say.
\nThe fox, feeling down, says: \u2018No chickens around. No boys, or girls, not a one
\nOn shoulder or cart, with their apple juice or a bun.
\nNo kids with peanuts for the chimps, or lollies on their breath.
\nThey\u2019ve got to open the zoo, because this is boring us to death\u2019<\/p>\n

View the column on\u00a0the website of \u2018Het Parool\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n

What is a writers\u2019 hotel without writers? A pen without ink? For a period of six months in 2021, one author a week was invited to stay at the Ambassade Hotel and describe their writing lives at that time. Throughout the period May to November 2021, the newspaper Het Parool published the Writers\u2019 Hotel columns in its weekly Arts Section.<\/p>\n

Read more about\u00a0this column project\u00a0in collaboration with \u2018Het Parool\u2019.<\/p>\n

Would you like to stay at the writers\u2019 hotel as well? Enjoy a unique experience in the Ambassade Hotel\u00a0with these special offer packages\u00a0or come and admire the library after visiting our sunny\u00a0terrace on the Herengracht!<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true},"blog_category":[],"class_list":["post-1883","blog","type-blog","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassade-hotel-nl.ont.stuurlui.dev\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/1883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassade-hotel-nl.ont.stuurlui.dev\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassade-hotel-nl.ont.stuurlui.dev\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ambassade-hotel-nl.ont.stuurlui.dev\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ambassade-hotel-nl.ont.stuurlui.dev\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_category?post=1883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}