On the sunny afternoon of March 30, Wim Tigges took us on a trip down memory to our childhood, the childhoord of our children and that of our grandchildren. As the second event in our series on children’s classics, the rebellious verses of Annie M.G. Schmidt, Dutch poet and author must have their place. Tigges told us how she was influenced by the works of Lewis Caroll and Edward Lear.
The audience was shaking with laughter as Tigges quoted from verses such as Ik ben lekker stout (nice and naughty), ‘t verhaal van tante Mathilde (the story of auntie Mathilda) and the wonderful story of Graaf Weet-ik-veel (Count No Idea), but Tigges also showed us what an amazingly clever use Schmidt made of both language and rhythm.
The lecture left the audience with the firm intention of rereading the verses and reading them to their children and grandchildren!