| I work for a crook. | |
| That is not my fault. There are -- | |
| just no good bosses. | |
| Ik werk voor een boef. | Ich arbeite für |
| Dat is niet mijn schuld. Er zijn -- | Gauner. Ist nicht meine Schuld -- |
| geen goede bazen. | Die Chefs sind Gauner. |
Amsterdam, 2026-10-22
Let them take care (Constantine Cavafy) - 1930
Poem #150 "As frontizan"
Collection: Tardiness in Acceleration
Tribute to: Kaváfis, Konstantínos
|
Don't touch us, we know |
Amsterdam, 2026-02-06
Interview
This poem belongs to poem 5853. Department Head
Jan Veldhuijzen (1938) gives in Vrij Nederland (23 November 1996) his opinion upon the character Jan Boerakker in the novel "Het Bureau" ("The Office", 7 parts, 1996-2000, Han Voskuil)
Collection: Frustration
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
|
With the new director |
Amsterdam, 2026-02-05
Interview
Jaap van Marle talks about his introduction to Han Voskuil (interview in Vrij Nederland, November 23rd, 1996)
Collection: Frustration
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| They don't do their best, | |
| after all it's not their work -- | |
| it's only a job. | |
| Ze doen niet hun best, | Sie nehmen es leicht, |
| het is immers niet hun werk -- | es ist nicht ihre Arbeit -- |
| het is maar een baan. | es ist nur ein Job. |
Amsterdam, 2025-08-22
Diary 1970-1971 (Frida Vogels) - 2011
"Dagboek 1970-1971" - December 16th, 1971, Bologna
Collection: Lookout
Tribute to: Vogels, Frida
| I'm doing my work | |
| with open arms, after all -- | |
| my work is man-made. | |
| Met open armen | Ich arbeite mit |
| doe ik mijn werk, tenslotte -- | offenen Armen, schließlich -- |
| doe ik mensenwerk. | mach ich Menschenwerk. |
Amsterdam, 2025-04-26
With a photo of Paul at the office (July 7th, 2010)
Collection: Life line
Dedicated to: Lotte W, Madelief dK, Paul J
| While the builder builds | |
| in the piano workshop -- | |
| the tuner's tuning. | |
| Terwijl de bouwer | Während der Bauer |
| in de pianowerkplaats -- | in der Klavierwerkstatt baut -- |
| bouwt, stemt de stemmer. | stimmt der Abstimmer. |
Amsterdam, 2024-02-03
Degrees of Transparency (Gabriel Paluk) - 2024
Composition for piano and soundtrack on seven loudspeakers, performed in the Organpark on February 3rd, 2024, by Gabriel Paluk
Collection: org ANP ark
Composer: Paluk, Gabriel
| After destruction | |
| there is a lot to be built -- | |
| nothing to rebuild. | |
| Na de verwoesting | Nach der Zerstörung |
| valt er veel op te bouwen -- | muss man bauen, aber nicht -- |
| niets te herbouwen. | wiedererbauen. |
Amsterdam, 2023-12-30
How do you live? (Hayao Miyazaki) - 2023
A new era
Animation film "Kimitachi wa d? ikiru ka" ("How do you live?" / "What is your way of life?" / "The Boy and the Heron")
Collection: PumicePieces
Tribute to: Miyazaki, Hayao
| It's not noise, it is | |
| labour, manufacturing -- | |
| in a large sound hall. | |
| Het is geen herrie | Es ist gar kein Lärm, |
| maar arbeid, fabricage -- | es ist Arbeit, Herstellung -- |
| in een klankwerkplaats. | In der Klangwerkstatt. |
Amsterdam, 2023-11-29
Noises that don't speak (Arnold Marinissen) - 2023
Composition "Des bruits qui ne parlent pas", for harpsichord, percussion and two cassette recorders; text (1937) by Simone Weil about the work in the Renault factory in Paris (in 1935); performed by Goska Isphording (harpsichord) and Tatiana Koleva (percussion) in the Organpark on November 29th, 2023
Collection: org ANP ark
Tribute to: Weil, Simone
Composer: Marinissen, Arnold
| I tirelessly write... | |
| application letters to -- | |
| waste paper baskets. | |
| IJverig schrijf ik... | Fleißig schreibe ich... |
| sollicitatiebrieven -- | viele Bewerbungsschreiben -- |
| naar prullenbakken. | an Papierkörbe. |
Amsterdam, 2023-09-26
Else Böhler, German maid (Simon Vestdijk) - 1934
In The Hague, Simon Vestdijk and Maria Schrader often visited Schut's Café, corrupted to Schützkaffee ('Shelter coffee')
Novel "Else Böhler, Duits dienstmeisje", published 1935, chapter April 16th, '34
Collection: Inmost [1]
Tribute to: Vestdijk, Simon
| In my work I can | |
| add trumps and do everything -- | |
| if it comes off well. | |
| In mijn vak mag ik | In meinem Beruf |
| troeven toevoegen, mag ik -- | erfinde ich Trümpfe, darf -- |
| alles wat me lukt. | ich alles, was klappt. |
Amsterdam, 2023-06-28
The Profession (Lars Gustafsson) - 2002
Poem (collection "En tid i Xanadu")
Collection: Specialities
Tribute to: Gustafsson, Lars
| What a strange office! | |
| Still, it turned out that I stayed: | |
| I got used to it. | |
| Wat een raar kantoor! | Seltsames Büro! |
| Toch liep het zo dat ik bleef: | Dennoch bin ich geblieben: |
| ik wende eraan. | man gewöhnt daran. |
Amsterdam, 2023-03-27
The Office - Failure (Han Voskuil) - 2000
Novel "Het Bureau - Afgang"
Pages 218-219, Maarten Koning and Jantje Bavelaar on her farewell (1983)
Collection: Frustration
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| Do people become | |
| religious if it's required -- | |
| to get a good job? | |
| Word je gelovig | Wird man religiös, |
| als je gelovig moet zijn -- | wenn man religiös sein muss -- |
| voor een goede baan? | für die guten Jobs? |
Amsterdam, 2023-02-18
Collection: The King
| Less manual work, | |
| more machines, does that make us -- | |
| more and more happy? | |
| Minder handwerk, meer | Weniger Arbeit, |
| machines, ach, maakt dat ons -- | mehr Maschinen, macht uns das -- |
| steeds gelukkiger? | immer glücklicher? |
Amsterdam, 2023-02-14
The Office - The A.P. Beerta Institute (Han Voskuil) - 1998
Is operating machines more satisfying than manual work?
Novel "Het Bureau - Het A.P. Beerta-Instituut"
Page 941, Maarten Koning and Gert Wiggelaar (1978)
Collection: Frustration
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| You should not do it | |
| secretly, but unnoticed -- | |
| just tactically. | |
| Zoiets doe je niet | So was tut man nicht |
| heimelijk maar tactisch, zo -- | heimlich, sondern taktisch, so -- |
| dat het niet opvalt. | dass es nicht auffällt. |
Amsterdam, 2023-02-10
The Office - The A.P. Beerta Institute (Han Voskuil) - 1998
Novel "Het Bureau - Het A.P. Beerta-Instituut"
Page 655, Maarten Koning and Bart Asjes (speaking about Joop Schenk) - 1977
Collection: Frustration
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| The policy is | |
| quite simple: whoever works -- | |
| here will not be fired. | |
| Kortaf zegt hij wat | Die Politik ist |
| het beleid is: wie hier werkt -- | einfach: wer hier arbeitet -- |
| wordt niet ontslagen. | wird nicht gefeuert. |
Amsterdam, 2023-02-09
The Office - The A.P. Beerta Institute (Han Voskuil) - 1998
Novel "Het Bureau - Het A.P. Beerta-Instituut"
Page 547, Maarten Koning and Ad Muller (1977), also page 839, Maarten Koning, Gert Wiggelaar and Ad Muller (1978)
Collection: Frustration
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
|
No one lives for himself |
Amsterdam, 2022-12-08
Song "Niemand leeft voor zichzelf" ("No one lives for himself", text Huub Oosterhuis), for the funeral of bishop Wim Bekkers on May 14th, 1966)
Luke 16:1-8 Parable of the rich steward helping the debtors
Servant: Genesis 2:5,15, 3:23 Man must till the earth, first in the garden of Eden, then outside it
Working together: Genesis 11:1,4 The people want to stay together, so they build a city with a citadel
Driven out: Genesis 11:9 The people are driven out of their city to till the whole earth
Collection: BloodTrunk
| These billions of lives, | |
| these billions of unfinished -- | |
| workings at their deaths. | |
| Miljarden levens, | Milliarden Leben, |
| miljarden onvoltooide -- | Milliarden unfertiges -- |
| werken bij hun dood. | Werk bei ihrem Tod. |
Train Amsterdam-Alkmaar, 2021-10-22
Collection: The King
|
We make the best of it, now and then |
Amsterdam, 2019-06-15
Collection: Mosaic virus
| The job does exist, | |
| as a profile: stand up, step -- | |
| into the armour. | |
| De functie bestaat, | Die Stelle ist echt, |
| als een profiel: kom maar op -- | als ein Profil: also, komm -- |
| stap in het harnas. | trete im Harnisch. |
Scheveningen, 2018-06-19
A Frisian does not cry (Gerrit Krol) - 1980
Job profile
Novel "Een Fries huilt niet", chapter 9.3
Collection: Rasping ants
Tribute to: Krol, Gerrit
| Office is a place | |
| of meeting where people talk -- | |
| and that creates work. | |
| Kantoor is een plaats | Büro ist ein Ort, |
| van samenkomst waar men praat -- | an dem die Leute reden -- |
| en zo ontstaat werk. | und das schafft Arbeit. |
Amsterdam, 2018-06-18
A Frisian does not cry (Gerrit Krol) - 1980
Novel "Een Fries huilt niet", Prologue
Collection: Rasping ants
Tribute to: Krol, Gerrit
| We do our work like | |
| playing an exciting game -- | |
| as best as we can. | |
| We doen ons werk als | Unsere Arbeit |
| een boeiend spel, we spelen -- | ist ein ergreifendes Spiel -- |
| het bloedserieus. | das wir Ernst nehmen. |
Amsterdam, 2017-06-23
On closer inspection (Han Voskuil) - 1963
Autobiographical novel "Bij nader inzien" - November 25th, 1948
Collection: Elude
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| A temperature. | |
| But I'm still going to work -- | |
| Because, who's healthy? | |
| Ik heb verhoging, | Leichtes Fieber. Trotz- |
| maar ik ga toch maar werken -- | dem gehe ich zur Arbeit -- |
| Want, wie is gezond? | Wer ist schon gesund? |
Amsterdam, 2017-06-12
The Office - Dirty hands (Han Voskuil) - 1996
Novel "Het Bureau - Vuile handen" - 1969
Collection: Dirty hands
Tribute to: Voskuil, Han
| Swimming in windows | |
| dark with all the office ink: | |
| the ghostly white fish. | |
| In een raam donker | In Fenstern dunkel |
| van de kantoorinkt zwemmen -- | mit der Bürotinte schwimmt -- |
| witte schimvissen. | weißer Geisterfisch. |
Amsterdam, 2014-12-15
"San Francisco" sketch (Jack Kerouac) - 1954
Collection "Book of sketches, 1952-1957" (2006)
Collection: Appearances
Tribute to: Kerouac, Jack
