Meandering home

How a slew of privileges earned me a Basic Income

I don't think it's because I am white. My online clients don't always see my profile photos and my first name, Kamiel, doesn't radiate whiteness unequivocally, while my inofficial surname, Choi (최) is unambiguously Korean. Though the name might play a role, I am sure there are other factors. I was once given two academic ...

15 August, 2017

basic income, discrimination, privilege, translation, university

Activism, Laughs

Bilingual child’s creative translation

Today, like most days, my four years old daughter Miru sang a song in kindergarten. When I asked her to sing it to me after I picked her up and she was enjoying an ice slushy that colored her tongue orange, she rendered a perfect translation in Dutch. Good, the song consisted of three distinct ...

4 July, 2017

bilingualism, creative, kindergarten, Miru, song, translation

Miru, The good life

Poetry in Times of Bullshit Jobs

On my screen is a translation of European data protection law. On my ears is Beethoven's seventh. A major. I listen to one of the greatest geniuses of our modernity. My fingers are moving with every measure. The vacuity of the language I observe, as it emerges on my screen suddenly enables me to see ...

17 December, 2015

Beethoven, bullshit jobs, translation

Poetry

End-Of-Line

Istanbul, December 2011. After a really nice visit to Dutch poet Martijn Benders, who gave me two of his poetry books on the occasion, I decided to do one of the poems in English because I think it would be a good poetic anthem for the "occupy" movement. I take all the blows, of ...

4 December, 2011

Christ, Martijn Benders, occupy movement, poetry, translation

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