| Father dies in bed. | |
| And the cat sleeps underneath -- | |
| just sleeps right through it. | |
| Vader sterft in bed. | Vater stirbt im Bett. |
| En de kat slaapt daaronder -- | Die Katze schläft darunter -- |
| gewoon rustig door. | ganz friedlich weiter. |
Amsterdam, 2026-09-16
The Reed-Thatcher. A Family History (Rinus Spruit) - 2009
Biography "De rietdekker. Een familiegeschiedenis", chapter 'Cat' - Jan Spruit died in Nieuwdorp (Zeeland) on December 24th, 1997; he was born there on December 18th, 1911
Collection: Spirals
Tribute to: Spruit, Rinus
| Living gardens are | |
| simultaneously their own -- | |
| graveyards of dead plants. | |
| Een levende tuin | Ein Garten, der lebt, |
| is zijn eigen begraafplaats -- | ist sein eigener Friedhof -- |
| van dode planten. | verwelkter Pflanzen. |
Amsterdam, 2026-06-20
Being there (Jerzy Kosinski) - 1970
Novel "Wystarczy by?" (1970, "It's enough to be", translation "Being there", 1971), chapter 1
The novel was beautifully adapted into a film by Hal Ashby (1979, "Being there"), starring Peter Sellers
Collection: Thinkles Lusionless
Tribute to: Kosinski, Jerzy
| I'm alive, I stand | |
| on a mountain of the dead -- | |
| They have become soil. | |
| Ik leef en ik sta | Ich stehe auf dem |
| op een berg doden, ze zijn -- | Berg der Toten, sie sind zu -- |
| aarde geworden. | Erde geworden. |
Amsterdam, 2025-08-30
You're still alive, you stand on the mountain of dead people (Frida Vogels) - 1994
Verse "Jij leeft nog, je staat op de berg doden", published in the collection "De harde kern 3" ("The hard core 3" [part XI, Deceased]), and in "Diary 1974-1976" (2013) - July 25th, 1974, Bologna
Collection: Overwritten
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida
| It's a party, so | |
| drink to me, drink to my life -- | |
| drink to life itself! | |
| Het is feest, dus drink | Tolle Party, trink |
| op mij, drink op mijn leven -- | auf mich, trink auf mein Leben -- |
| drink op het leven! | trink auf das Leben! |
Amsterdam, 2025-07-04
Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) (Paul McCartney & Wings) - 1973
Song, album "Band on the run"
Collection: Here &Now&
Tribute to: McCartney, Paul; Wings
| Spring and summer will | |
| pass quickly and everything -- | |
| will be cold and bare. | |
| Lente en zomer | Frühling und Sommer |
| gaan vlug voorbij en alles -- | vergehen schnell und alles -- |
| zal koud en kaal zijn. | wird kalt und kahl sein. |
Amsterdam, 2025-06-12
Green meadows (Antonio Fanzanglia / Georg Friedrich Händel) - 1728
Air "Verdi prati" (based on the epic "Orlando furioso" ["The Frenzy of Orlando", 1516, Ludovico Ariosto], music 1735, Georg Friedrich Händel, HWV34), from the opera "Alcina", 2nd act - Knight Ruggiero
Collection: Over
Tribute to: Fanzanglia, Antonio; Ariosto, Ludovico
Composer: Handel, Georg Friedrich
| A dead man, within | |
| the circle of trees within -- | |
| the circle of birds. | |
| Een dode, binnen | Drinnen liegt eine |
| de bomencirkel binnen -- | Leiche, im Kreis der Bäume -- |
| de vogelcirkel. | im Kreis der Vögel. |
Amsterdam, 2025-06-08
Trees surround the house (Ellen Deckwitz) - 2011
Poem "Bomen omsingelen het huis", collection "De steen vreest mij" ("The stone fears me")
Collection: Death on Cast
Tribute to: Deckwitz, Ellen
| I see that dying | |
| means less than I thought, just like -- | |
| life actually. | |
| Doodgaan stelt minder | Sterben bedeutet |
| voor dan ik dacht, eigenlijk -- | weniger als ich dachte -- |
| net als het leven. | ach, wie das Leben. |
Amsterdam, 2025-01-03
Night side of the river: Fountain with lions (Jeanette Winterson) - 2023
Story "Fountain with lions" in the collection "Night side of the river"
Collection: Here &Now&
Tribute to: Winterson, Jeanette
| On the sunny side | |
| of the river there are drowned -- | |
| bodies washing up. | |
| Aan de zonnige | Auf der sonnige |
| kant van de rivier spoelen -- | Seite des Flusses spülen -- |
| drenkelingen aan. | Ertrunkene an. |
Amsterdam, 2025-01-03
Night side of the river (Jeanette Winterson) - 2023
Story "Night side of the river" in the collection of the same name
Collection: Over
Tribute to: Winterson, Jeanette
| Yet, no matter how | |
| close you are to dying, life -- | |
| is always closer. | |
| Al ben je nog zo | Egal wie nah du |
| dichtbij je dood, het leven -- | deinem Tod bist, das Leben -- |
| is toch dichterbij. | ist immer näher. |
Amsterdam, 2024-12-02
Interview with 'Sticks' - 2024
Interview by Jonasz Dekkers with rapper Junte 'Sticks' Uiterwijk in the NRC of December 2nd, 2024, about his album "Zonneschijn" ("Sunshine", 2024): 'This album is both scar and love. That's life. Death is never far away on this album, but life is always closer'
Collection: Here &Now&
Tribute to: Sticks (Uiterwijk, Junte)
| Are we not clay, lumps | |
| of ochre and lime, dung heaps -- | |
| for eggs and maggots? | |
| Zijn wij klei, klodders | Sind wir Lehm, Ocker- |
| oker en kalk, mesthopen -- | und Kalkklumpen, Misthaufen -- |
| voor vliegeneitjes? | für Fliegeneier? |
Amsterdam, 2024-11-16
Head of Helen Gillespie - II (Frank Auerbach) - 1964
Painting
Collection: Metamorphic body
Tribute to: Auerbach, Frank
| Ideas fall apart | |
| in the awareness of death, | |
| the Major Teacher. | |
| Denkbeelden breken | Ideen platzen |
| in het besef van de dood, | im Bewusstsein des Todes, |
| de Grote Leraar. | der Große Lehrer. |
Amsterdam, 2024-08-07
Henry and Cato (Iris Murdoch) - 1976
Novel, part Two, The Great Teacher
Collection: Longing and Loss
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris
| I am very sure, | |
| I must be dead, nowhere here -- | |
| is there any waste. | |
| Ik weet het zeker, | Ich bin mir sicher, |
| ik moet dood zijn, want nergens -- | ich muss tot sein, nirgendwo -- |
| is er hier afval. | gibt es hier Abfall. |
Amsterdam, 2023-12-09
Collection: Greeting from before
| While they wait around | |
| the grave, people talk softly -- | |
| about the weather. | |
| Wachtend om het graf | Um das Grab herum |
| praten de mensen zachtjes -- | reden die Leute leise -- |
| over de hitte. | über die Hitze. |
Amsterdam, 2023-12-07
Labor Day (Louise Glück) - 1990
Poem (collection "Ararat")
Collection: Stream
Tribute to: Glück, Louise
| Dying means little | |
| without fantasy, else it's -- | |
| about everything. | |
| Zonder fantasie | Ohne Fantasie |
| stelt doodgaan niets voor, anders -- | stellt Sterben wenig da, sonst -- |
| gaat het om alles. | geht es um alles. |
Amsterdam, 2023-11-30
Journey to the End of the Night (Louis-Ferdinand Céline) - 1932
Novel "Voyage au bout de la nuit" - "Quand on a pas d'imagination, mourir c'est peu de choses, quand on en a, mourir c'est trop."
Collection: Over
Tribute to: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand
| In the trenches they | |
| run busily back and forth: | |
| the thousands of mice. | |
| In de loopgraven | In den Laufgräben |
| rennen ze druk heen en weer: | gehen sie schnell hin und her: |
| duizenden muizen. | Tausende Mäuse. |
Amsterdam, 2023-09-18
The cloud inventory (Franco Faggiani) - 2023
World War I
Novel "L'inventario delle nuvole", § 13
Collection: Human excess
Tribute to: Faggiani, Franco
| "Not today", they shout, | |
| so death can't help but bursting -- | |
| in uninvited. | |
| "Vandaag niet", roepen | "Heute nicht", schreien |
| de mensen, dus stormt de dood -- | alle, also stürmt der Tod -- |
| ongevraagd binnen. | ungebeten rein. |
Amsterdam, 2023-05-05
My Adventures by V.Swchwrm (Toon Tellegen) - 1998
Children's book "Mijn avonturen door V.Swchwrm", page 33
Collection: Perhaps / Some day / Occasionally / Almost
Tribute to: Tellegen, Toon
| Just metamorphic | |
| bodies are we, hovering -- | |
| between fear and death. | |
| Wissellichamen | Wir sind nur Wechsel- |
| zijn wij, hulpeloos zwevend -- | körper, die hilflos schweben -- |
| tussen dood en vrees. | zwischen Furcht und Tod. |
Amsterdam, 2022-08-12
Collection: Metamorphic body
| He is dying, yet | |
| there's no rage of snow and storm -- | |
| yet things just go on. | |
| Hij gaat dood, en toch | Er stirbt, und trotzdem |
| raast er geen sneeuw en geen storm -- | gibt es kein Sturmgetobe -- |
| toch gaat alles door. | geht alles weiter. |
Amsterdam, 2021-07-07
Nuns and Soldiers (Iris Murdoch) - 1980
Novel
Collection: Longing and Loss
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris
| Live in the present, | |
| then passing away won't be -- | |
| an event for you. | |
| Leef in het heden, | Lebe immer jetzt, |
| dan is doodgaan voor jou niets -- | dann wird das Sterben für dich -- |
| geen gebeurtenis. | kein Ereignis sein. |
Amsterdam, 2021-07-06
Nuns and Soldiers (Iris Murdoch) - 1980
Novel
Collection: Longing and Loss
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris
| The very last gift | |
| are the children around her -- | |
| who keep on playing. | |
| Het laatste cadeau: | Das letzte Geschenk: |
| de kinderen om haar heen -- | die Kinder um sie herum -- |
| die blijven spelen. | die weiterspielen. |
Amsterdam, 2021-03-18
For Mama (Robert Gall, Charles Aznavour) - 1963
Song "La mamma" (lyrics by Robert Gall)
Collection: SoulSenseSun
Tribute to: Aznavour, Charles; Gall, Robert
| The odour, a mix | |
| of earth and decaying leaves -- | |
| of both life and death. | |
| De gemengde geur | Der Duft von Erde |
| van aarde en rottend blad -- | und verrottende Blättern -- |
| van leven en dood. | von Leben und Tod. |
Amsterdam, 2020-05-19
Forest air, earthy odour (geosmin)
Collection: Metamorphic body
| Almost dead, falling | |
| on a black tarp that closes -- | |
| but I hear my name. | |
| Bijna dood, een val | Fast tod, ich falle |
| op een zwart zeil dat zich sluit -- | die schwarze Plane schließt sich -- |
| maar ik hoor mijn naam. | dann klingt mein Name. |
Amsterdam, 2020-03-10
Nothing is a lie (Sacha Bronwasser) - 2019
Novel "Niets is gelogen", chapter II B
Collection: Actively Passive
Tribute to: Bronwasser, Sacha
|
Undressed, my nakedness |
Amsterdam, 2019-09-23
Sebastian from Narbonne - 288
Sebastian from Narbonne, died AD 288
Collection: More
| The dancer has died, | |
| yet we are honouring life -- | |
| it's our murderer. | |
| De danser is dood, | Der Tänzer ist tot, |
| toch eren wij het leven -- | doch ehren wir das Leben -- |
| onze moordenaar. | unseren Mörder. |
Amsterdam, 2019-07-14
We will treat life in a grand way (Hans Lodeizen) - 1950
Vaslav Nijinski (Kiev 1889 - 1950 London)
Collection: Moist glow
Tribute to: Lodeizen, Hans
|
Reassuring yourself by silencing |
Amsterdam, 2018-11-13
SCHWYZERDÜTSCH (Swiss German):
Summervogel (Summer bird) = butterfly
Collection: Summer birds
| Dying, surviving: | |
| enough talk, now it is time -- | |
| to try on her clothes. | |
| Doodgaan, nabestaan: | Noch leben: genug |
| genoeg gepraat, nu passen -- | geredet, wir probieren -- |
| we al haar kleren. | ihre Kleider an. |
Amsterdam, 2017-12-30
Diary 1977-1978 (Frida Vogels) - 2014
"Dagboek 1977-1978" - January 18th, 1978, Bologna
Collection: Helices
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida
| He died and I am | |
| mortal: indigestible -- | |
| It turns my stomach. | |
| Mijn sterfelijkheid | Meine Sterblichkeit |
| en zijn dood: onverteerbaar -- | und sein Tod: unverdaulich -- |
| Mijn maag draait zich om. | Mein Magen dreht sich. |
Amsterdam, 2017-12-03
Collection: On living on [2]
| The Friesian horses, | |
| stepping in black cloths with hoods -- | |
| and snorting with life. | |
| De Friese paarden | Die Friesenpferde |
| schrijden in zwarte mantels -- | schreiten in schwarzen Decken -- |
| briesend van leven. | schnaubend vor Leben. |
Amsterdam, 2014-05-25
Horses with cloths (Arjen Duinker) - 1994
After reading the poem "Paarden met mantels" (collection "De gevelreiniger en anderen")
Collection: PumicePieces
Tribute to: Duinker, Arjen
| Dying means nothing | |
| and a life means everything -- | |
| we wish to construe. | |
| Sterven betekent | Sterben bedeutet |
| niets en een leven alles -- | nichts und ein Leben alles -- |
| wat we bedenken. | was wir uns denken. |
Train Amsterdam-Nijmegen, 2013-08-16
Collection: The King
