{"id":17622,"date":"2025-04-16T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\/?post_type=project&p=17622"},"modified":"2025-12-05T15:34:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T13:34:47","slug":"literary-bench-oooh-workum","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\/en\/project\/literary-benches\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\/","title":{"rendered":"Literary bench {Oooh} | Workum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Oooh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First a letter, than a word,
a sentence forms before you know it.
Your story has begun and now
you know how you can grow it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s Up to You<\/h4>\n\n\n\n


If everything changes as of now
and nothing stays the way it is,
will you say: \u2018Ah, whatever.
I won\u2019t lose any sleep over this.\u2019

Will you think: \u2018Let change just come.
I really couldn\u2019t care less.
Instead of me, robots will work, 
providing money, health and happiness.\u2019

Or do you see it differently now
that there are things you want to do?
Wondering if you\u2019ll have a future
in a world that still has room for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here for you<\/h4>\n\n\n\n


You\u2019re very welcome on this bench.
Have a seat, it\u2019s here for you!                                  
You can whisper, talk or sing.
But you can sit in silence too.

Thys Wadman<\/strong><\/em>
(translation: David Colmer)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the bench<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Machiel Braaksma: \u201cThe municipality of S\u00fadwest-Frys\u00e2n suggested creating a poetry bench for children, which writer Thys Wadman and I brainstormed on. Thys suggested a situation with a question and answer so that the bench would have an active function. I started to associate with that, and that\u2019s how I came across the idea for a kind of ring. Like a portal into another world, Alice in Wonderland and also the letter \u2018O\u2019 in shape. \u2018O\u2019 can also be an answer to a question. Searching further, I came across \u2018Oooh\u2019. That\u2019s wonderful, because it has multiple meanings with extremes: wonder, amazement, resignation, enthusiasm, compassion, indignation, etc. That\u2019s how an \u2018Oooh\u2019 came to life. Separate from the paper or from a thought. A large letter \u2018O\u2019 is a hollow or train compartment through which you can look from your own child\u2019s world to the world outside. And the letter \u2018h\u2019 is actually a bench. The letters can be anything. Is the big \u2018O\u2019 a mother holding a twin: \u2018o\u2019, together with a brother or sister \u2018h\u2019? Is it \u2018hear, see, be silent\u2019? With the \u2018h\u2019 for hear, the two small \u2018o\u2019s as eyes and the big open \u2018O\u2019 as the inside of a head with \u2018silence\u2019? Is \u2018Oooh\u2019 a train, a carriage or wonderful letter beast? It is all possible. Thys takes the children along on a relaxed and playful way in 3 poems, that let them fantasize and wonder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Location of the bench<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the makers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Poet<\/strong> | Thys Wadman (1956) worked for 42 years as teacher and principal in primary education. During the development of the Frisian language teaching method ‘Studio F’ he started writing poems and stories for children. He won the Simke Kloosterman Prize in 2013 with the storybook De oerwinnings fan Tido Houtsma<\/em> (the victories of Tido Houtsma). His book In nije heit<\/em> (a new dad) was included on the IBBY Honor List. Now that he is retired, he is often involved in writing song lyrics, stories and poems for children and adults. He also published De F\u00fbgelklup<\/em>, De bisteboel fan Omke Roel<\/em>, De H\u00fbneklup<\/em>, Jorrit en Philo begjinne in klup<\/em>, Nee hast, yes kinst krije…<\/em>, and Heity! Help!<\/em> He also wrote a book about his father in 1997, Anne Wadman (1919-1997)<\/em>.

Visual artist<\/strong> | With a lightly Dadaist slant, Machiel Braaksma takes objects out of daily life, with which he creates new images and situations which are funny, moving or confusing and nuance or comment on life. He chooses things from everyday life, reassembles them and creates new pieces. Braaksma says about his work: \u2018I put everything in the wrong order in the ‘right’ way. What I want from my work is that it\u2019s original, unmistakable and that it has longevity. I\u2019m looking for resilient, sturdy objects that can unashamedly be themselves yet engaging. Images with an exuberant integrity and a shameless, inner beauty.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With thanks to<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Provincie Frysl\u00e2n, Gemeente S\u00fadwest-Frysl\u00e2n, Walter Baas, Blowups Reclame objecten BV Heijen

Photo: Hoge Noorden | Jacob van Essen<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":17729,"parent":17536,"menu_order":82,"template":"","project_type":[],"class_list":["post-17622","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLiterary bench {Oooh} | Workum - Leeuwarden City of Literature<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\/en\/project\/literary-benches\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Literary bench {Oooh} | Workum - Leeuwarden City of Literature\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\/en\/project\/literary-benches\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Leeuwarden City of Literature\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-05T13:34:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/160425ZJE_4463-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1703\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/en\\\/project\\\/literary-benches\\\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/en\\\/project\\\/literary-benches\\\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\\\/\",\"name\":\"Literary bench {Oooh} | Workum - Leeuwarden City of Literature\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/fy\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/en\\\/project\\\/literary-benches\\\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/en\\\/project\\\/literary-benches\\\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/160425ZJE_4463-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-16T07:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-05T13:34:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/en\\\/project\\\/literary-benches\\\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/en\\\/project\\\/literary-benches\\\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/en\\\/project\\\/literary-benches\\\/literary-bench-oooh-workum\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/160425ZJE_4463-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/leeuwardencityofliterature.nl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/160425ZJE_4463-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1703,\"caption\":\"\u00a9 Foto: Hoge Noorden \\\/ Jacob van Essen 16-04-2025 City of Literature feestelijke onthullingen van 5 po\u00ebziebanken (Dokkum, Sint Jabik, Leeuwarden, Heerenveen en Workum) die Machiel Braaksma samen met 5 dichters in opdracht van LWD CoL gemaakt heeft. 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