Writer Jan Veenstra received the municipal medal of honor of the Wolden last Saturday. That happened during the last performance of Spitwerk in Suthwalda. Veenstra and his wife Marga Kool wrote that theater piece in honor of the 750th anniversary of Zuidwolde.
Veenstra (74) is a famous writer of novels, theater pieces, columns and song texts. Among other things, he is known for his books The summer of ’59,, ” Singer of Zulver and his most recent book The Vaalrode Kite.
In the past year he worked with his wife on the theater piece Spitwerk in Suthwalda. Prior to the last performance, he received the municipal medal of honor from the mayor and aldermen. “The mayor, Inge Nieuwenhuizen, came forward and when she started talking I understood that it was about me. These are not things that you think about when you come to the last performance, but I really like it,” says Veenstra.
It took Veenstra and his wife a year to write the theater piece. The writing process started with a lot of talking to each other. “And then you get to work. We mentions each other in the order and gradually such a play arises,” says Veenstra. “We are quite of course because we have already worked together a lot.”
The municipal honorary medal that Veenstra received is not only for this performance, but is because of his entire oeuvre. The municipal honorary medal still has to get a nice place, it is still on the table.