in the second delivery of conscription reminiscences, i relate some aspects of basic training - a period so stressful that the only refuge i had was to flee into my imagination. what an absurd experience in aid of an unjustifiable cause! by HA!Man | 29 October 2020 TO READ THE FULL STORY and receive regular … Continue reading those army days (2) “the rookie roster” (extract)
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de deur (fragment)
Mira wordt om onbegrijpelijke redenen kwaad op een deur in Kaapstad. Het zet mij aan tot licht ironische gedachten over borstvoeding, schrijven, alcohol drinken. deur Joke Debaere | 1 Maart 2002 TO READ THE FULL STORY-and receive regular new releases, as well as many morecatalogued videos, music tracks, writings, visual art, etc go here for … Continue reading de deur (fragment)
those army days (1) “brown” (extract)
in the first delivery of reminiscences of the two years i was conscripted in the South African army, i recount how i romanticized war-making, was ready for war-making and how, within the first days of being a military rookie, my world was turned upside down. by HA!Man | 15 August 2020 TO READ THE … Continue reading those army days (1) “brown” (extract)
sworn to silence (preview)
Marianne, who works in a South African public hospital. Her whole take on life is confronted when a patient she tends to turns out to be a man who robbed her house a few days before by Joke Debaere | 7 Jan 2020 TO READ THE FULL SHORT STORY and receive regular new releases, as … Continue reading sworn to silence (preview)
The Heartbreaking Unfairness of Poverty
Dear all I met Nyebho during rehearsals for a theatre play in Grahamstown (now Makhanda), in 2000. I was the live musician for the play. The director picked on Nyebho, or should I say, there was difficulty between them. What I sensed was that he possessed almost an uncontrollable urge to express. He could do … Continue reading The Heartbreaking Unfairness of Poverty
The story of Mira’s birth, seen through my perspective
By Joke Debaere As my pregnancy was coming to an end, I often googled “water, breaks, signs”. Facing the Big Moment, Google was my refuge. Just like it had been the first couple of weeks. I had found a Dutch website that compared the growth of my fetus week by week with a piece of … Continue reading The story of Mira’s birth, seen through my perspective
of heart and mind
by Joke Debaere As my presence on stage has been fairly silent the past 4 months and will be more silent than usual in the coming ones, I wanted to give you some news about the novel I am writing, which is the reason for the break I am taking from the stage. I can … Continue reading of heart and mind
On the life and death of a mother
My mother passed away on Tuesday morning. Many of you have known her, or know about her. I mentioned her illness a while back. Yesterday, I wrote a message about the impact and significance her life and death has to me, but had a feeling I needed to write this intro to put things in … Continue reading On the life and death of a mother
Starbucks Tears
by Joke Debaere A couple of weeks ago, a waitress in a Starbucks asked me whether I wanted the milk foam on my cappuccino wet or dry. I had to ask her three times what she meant. In the beginning of our conversation, all she could do was repeating those very same words: “Whether you … Continue reading Starbucks Tears
about cancer and death and life (follow up)
Perhaps I should start to accept that writing these newsletters have become a rather loaded event for me. I often, through the years, expressed the wish and even promised that HA!News would become more regular. Yet it refuses to. Especially after the last letter on “the Golden Voice” relating the “miracle” of a dramatic turn … Continue reading about cancer and death and life (follow up)
