Margo Minco, born in Breda, passed away last Monday. The writer turned 103. Her real name is Sara Voeten-Menco. One of her most famous books was ‘The bitter herb’. The book describes the experiences of a main character, which resemble how Minco himself experienced the Second World War.
For her entire oeuvre, the beloved author received the Constantijn Huygens Prize in 2005 and the PC Hooft Prize in 2019. She was praised for her often humorous and absurdist, but also sober stories.
In ‘Floroskoop’, a booklet from 1979, she tells how she was born on March 31, 1920 in the Prins Hendrikstraat in Ginniken. Just in time. Because, she writes, my mother was afraid that I would no longer appear before twelve: “A birth on April 1 was impossible, she thought. Her child should not run the risk of becoming the victim of the births associated with this date every birthday. jokes.”
The house where he was born is an extension of Oranjeplein in Breda. This would be renamed Marga Mincoplein. Despite her advanced age, the writer was already recording texts for the square where a work of art would be placed (you can eavesdrop on something with a QR code).