Recently I wrote that my need to write a book had evaporated. It is true. But my need to write has not.I signed up for a one-day writing course called “Writing Amsterdam in the Now”. I wasn't expecting to find my motivation for writing the book again. But I was hoping to re-ignite the creative spark that gave me the idea of writing a book about Amsterdam in the first place. I felt that spark had been left behind or snuffed out somewhere in the last few weeks. I needed inspiration to get it back.
That inspiration came in the form of this wonderful city, and a way of experiencing it introduced to me by Tine Van Wijk, an “echte Amsterdammer” who was brought up here during the war. She is a writer and a Gestalt Therapist – and a great person.
We met up in the morning at the ABC Treehouse, a gallery and arts courses centre. We talked for a while to get acquainted, and she asked me to think about what Amsterdam meant to me. Immediately images of meetings with friends in special places of the city came up in my mind as we sat breathing, eyes closed, thinking and imagining our experience of the city. After a few minutes, she said “just write it down – don't think. Write what comes first.” And I did. The thoughts and ideas came out straight away, and before I knew it, in 5 minutes I had a piece.
We then read each other's piece aloud. I was amazed to feel no fear at reading it. Normally I would be nervous, but the experience of writing this blog has helped lose any self-consciousness about whether what I write is good or not. And Tine made me feel so comfortable, it was a safe place to share my ideas.
Afterwards, we spent the day in different locations in the city doing exactly the same thing. Go to a place. Spend some time to breathe in the atmosphere and the surroundings. Look around. Listen to the sounds around us. Smell. Taste a coffee or a smoothie. Feel the ground or the seat beneath us. Then write for 10-15 minutes about whatever came to mind as a result
At the end of the day, we had written in 5 different locations around Amsterdam, with so many contrasts. A quiet courtyard, a busy tourist area, one high above the city, another close to the water. And we talked a lot about writing and our love of the city.
The day made me realise two things. I love writing. And I love Amsterdam NOW. Everywhere I turn, I find important moments of my own story in the streets, corners, canals and cycle routes. Meetings with good friends. Chance talks with strangers. Places I have sat, walked, hurried, shopped, eaten and been drunk. Running, cycling or scooter routes. Bridges where I have cried, squares where I have laughed. And mainly the people I have done all of those things with.
And that was the point Tine and I came to. If we asked ourselves, what is Amsterdam? Tine first wrote "It is a group of homes and streets based around the Amstel and the Ij rivers”. But she corrected it and said "Amsterdam is the people. The people make the city.” She said it all for me.No matter where my life takes me, I became a part of this city in these 12 years, and the city and its people became a part of me.
In the coming days I will post three of the pieces I wrote on this amazing day. The rest will appear somewhere in the future. Or, who knows, maybe these Amsterdam Moments will appear in a book one day...
