‘Start the day with a dance. Start the day with a smile. Who looks cheerful in the morning. He laughs all day long.’ It is one of the many poems that you can find in a poetry album. At the Historical Association de Wijk-Koekange they have collected more than eighty albums for a new exhibition.
The association received most of the albums from people in the neighborhood. “There are also albums from Utrecht and Amsterdam, but those people later moved to the Wijk or Koekange,” says Thea van de Wetering of the historical association.
The oldest album is from 1883, the youngest from 2019. “The handwriting makes a big difference,” Van de Wetering explains. “The handwriting of the past is much finer.” “The writing was also more formal. With you and yours,” adds Dieja Steenbergen of the historical association.
The poetry albums of Van de Wetering and Steenbergen are also on display. “In my album you see people of my own age who are no longer there,” says Steenbergen. “I find that quite confrontational.”
The albums can be viewed every Friday afternoon until the end of May at the historical association in the mill in De Wijk.
Curious about a special poetry album from the Second World War? Then watch the video below.