Marion Bloem
Encyclopedia
Marion Bloem is a Dutch writer and film maker of Indo (Eurasian) descent, best known as author of the literary acclaimed book Geen gewoon Indisch meisje (No Ordinary Indo Girl) and director of the 2008 feature film Ver van familie (Far from Family).
Bloem is a second generation Indo immigrant born into a family of four children. Her parents, Alexander and Jacqueline Bloem, repatriated from Indonesia
in 1950. Her father is a survivor of the Junyo Maru
disaster. Bloem, herself a psychologist, is married to Dutch author and physician Ivan Wolffers. She has one son named Kaja and four grandchildren.
In addition to her career as an author and film director, Bloem is a painter who exhibits around Europe.
’, when in 1983 she published her literary acclaimed breakthrough novel Geen gewoon meisje, which describes the duality and paradox of an Indo (Eurasian) girl. Followed in 1989 by the novel Vaders van betekenis, loosely translated to Noteworthy Fathers, which describes the relationship of an Indo girl towards her Indo parents and Indo father in particular. She continues to write successful books, often around the topics of (Indo) identity and immigration. In 2009 she wrote Vervlochten grenzen (Intertwined Borders) about the triangular relationship between the Dutch East Indies
, the Netherlands
and Indonesia
. For this book she received an 'E. du Perron Prize
' nomination.
From the time that her husband was confronted with prostate cancer, she developed an interest in this subject and did research amongst couples who had to deal with this disease. The result ended up in the book Als je man verandert (If Your Man Changes) which she wrote together with the urologist P.Kil, published in 2010. Her latest novel is Meer dan mannelijk (More than Male) which is a natural consequence of this particular interest.
Her writing style is influenced by the Indo oral storytelling tradition and the pasar malay
language.
. Based on her book of the same name, she wrote the screenplay and directed several Indo iconic actors including the famous singers Anneke Grönloh
and Riem de Wolff (Co-founder of the group the Blue Diamonds
). The movie is set in the USA and Netherlands of the mid-80s and shows the trials and tribulations of an American Indo girl searching for her (family) roots.
. Like Robinson who explored and benchmarked his Eurasian
identity from a global perspective, Bloem also puts her personal search for (Indo) identity in the broader perspective of immigration and integration.
Dutch Indies literature
professor Pamela Pattynama argues:
Bloem is a second generation Indo immigrant born into a family of four children. Her parents, Alexander and Jacqueline Bloem, repatriated from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
in 1950. Her father is a survivor of the Junyo Maru
Junyo Maru
The was a Japanese cargo ship that was sunk in 1944 by the British submarine , resulting in the loss of over 5,000 lives.The ship was built in 1913 by Robert Duncan Co. Glasgow. It displaced 5,065 tons, was long, wide, and deep. The engines were rated at...
disaster. Bloem, herself a psychologist, is married to Dutch author and physician Ivan Wolffers. She has one son named Kaja and four grandchildren.
In addition to her career as an author and film director, Bloem is a painter who exhibits around Europe.
Books
Bloem's first short story was published in 1968, when she was only 16 years old. Bloem made her bona fide debut as a writer in 1976, with the book De overgang (The Transition). She continued to write several more books, including the children’s book Matabia in 1981, which received the 'Smelik Prize' from the ‘International Board on Books for Young PeopleInternational Board on Books for Young People
The International Board on Books for Young People is a non-profit organization based in Switzerland committed to bringing books and children together.-History:...
’, when in 1983 she published her literary acclaimed breakthrough novel Geen gewoon meisje, which describes the duality and paradox of an Indo (Eurasian) girl. Followed in 1989 by the novel Vaders van betekenis, loosely translated to Noteworthy Fathers, which describes the relationship of an Indo girl towards her Indo parents and Indo father in particular. She continues to write successful books, often around the topics of (Indo) identity and immigration. In 2009 she wrote Vervlochten grenzen (Intertwined Borders) about the triangular relationship between the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. For this book she received an 'E. du Perron Prize
Edgar du Perron
Charles Edgar du Perron, more commonly known as E. du Perron, was a famous and influential Dutch poet and author of Indo-European descent. Best known for his literary acclaimed master piece ‘Land van herkomst’ of 1935...
' nomination.
From the time that her husband was confronted with prostate cancer, she developed an interest in this subject and did research amongst couples who had to deal with this disease. The result ended up in the book Als je man verandert (If Your Man Changes) which she wrote together with the urologist P.Kil, published in 2010. Her latest novel is Meer dan mannelijk (More than Male) which is a natural consequence of this particular interest.
Her writing style is influenced by the Indo oral storytelling tradition and the pasar malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
language.
Films
Bloem also produced a considerable number of movies and documentaries that have received several cultural awards and nominations. Her 1983 documentary Het land van mijn ouders (Land of My Parents) received both critical and commercial success. In 2008 her feature film Ver van familie (Far from Family) was released at the international film festival ‘Film by the Sea’ in Vlissingen and the Jakarta International Film FestivalJakarta International Film Festival
The Jakarta International Film Festival is the major film festival of Indonesia held every December in the capital, Jakarta, since 1999....
. Based on her book of the same name, she wrote the screenplay and directed several Indo iconic actors including the famous singers Anneke Grönloh
Anneke Grönloh
Louise Johanna Grönloh, is a female Dutch singer.-Life:Anneke was born in Tondano, North Celebes, Dutch East Indies and spent her early years in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies in a Japanese concentration camp...
and Riem de Wolff (Co-founder of the group the Blue Diamonds
Blue Diamonds
The Blue Diamonds were a Dutch 1960s doo-wop duo, best known for their million-selling chart-topping single, "Ramona". Indo brothers Ruud de Wolff and Riem de Wolff founded the group shortly after immigrating to the Netherlands in 1949...
). The movie is set in the USA and Netherlands of the mid-80s and shows the trials and tribulations of an American Indo girl searching for her (family) roots.
Indo identity
Much of Bloem's work evolves around an artistic and sincere exploration of Indo identity and culture, which makes her one of the foremost 2nd generation Indo authors and puts her in the tradition of the legendary Tjalie RobinsonTjalie Robinson
Tjalie Robinson is the main alias of the Indo intellectual and writer Jan Boon also known as Vincent Mahieu. His father Cornelis Boon, a KNIL sergeant, was Dutch and his Indo-European mother Fela Robinson was part English and Javanese...
. Like Robinson who explored and benchmarked his Eurasian
Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
identity from a global perspective, Bloem also puts her personal search for (Indo) identity in the broader perspective of immigration and integration.
“Being Indo is just a metaphor for being different.” Marion Bloem, 1983.
Dutch Indies literature
Dutch Indies literature
Dutch Indies literature or Dutch East Indies literature is a section of Dutch literature encompassing Dutch language literature inspired by colonial and post-colonial Insulinde from the Dutch Golden Age to the present day. It includes Dutch, Indo-European and Indonesian authors...
professor Pamela Pattynama argues:
"...multi-talented Marion Bloem who takes a foremost position among the second generation Indo-Dutch authors, filmmakers and artists [...] has brought an international perspective into her books that can no longer be defined as ‘novels’. [...] Her protagonists have become transnational subjects who invent a home and shape identities through the creative re-writing of stories and myths about mixed race. [...] I would like to suggest a diasporic, transnational or pluricentric perspective which may be more productive to understand Bloem’s work..."
Publications (selection)
- Overgang (1976) (non-fiction)
- Matabia (1981)
- Geen gewoon Indisch meisje (1983)
- Vaders van betekenis (1989)
- Vliegers onder het matras (1990)
- De honden van Slipi (1992)
- De leugen van de Kaketoe (1993) (Translated to English: ‘The cocketoo’s lie’)
- Muggen mensen olifanten (1995)
- Mooie meisjesmond (1997)
- Ver van familie (1998)
- Games4Girls (2001), (multimedia)
- Voor altijd moeder (2001)
- Liefde is soms lastig, liefste, (2002), (multimedia cd with visual poetry)
- Thuis (2003), (stories, poems, diaries, drawings and paintings)
- Zo groot als Hugo (2004)
- De V van Venus (2004).
- Een royaal gebaar (2005)
- In de kamer van mijn vroeger (2007) (poetry and paintings)
- Vervlochten grenzen (2009)
- "Geen Requiem" (2010) (long poem)
- "Als je man verandert" (2010) (non-fiction)
- "Meer dan mannelijk" (2011)
Other Indo authors
- Louis CouperusLouis CouperusLouis Marie-Anne Couperus was a Dutch novelist and poet during the Belle Époque. There is a wide variety of genres in his oeuvre, which contains poetry, fairy tales, psychological novels, and historical novels...
(1863–1923) - Victor IdoVictor IdoVictor Ido is the main alias of the Indo Dutch language writer and journalist Hans van de Wall. Born in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies from a Dutch father and Indo mother...
(1869-1948) - Ernest Douwes DekkerErnest Douwes DekkerErnest François Eugène Douwes Dekker was an Indonesian freedom fighter and politician of Indo descent. He was related to the famous Dutch writer, Multatuli, whose real name was Eduard Douwes Dekker. In his youth, he took part in the Second Boer War in South Africa on the Boer side...
(1879–1950) - Edgar du PerronEdgar du PerronCharles Edgar du Perron, more commonly known as E. du Perron, was a famous and influential Dutch poet and author of Indo-European descent. Best known for his literary acclaimed master piece ‘Land van herkomst’ of 1935...
(1899–1940) - Beb VuykBeb VuykElizabeth Vuyk was a Dutch writer of Indo descent. Her Indo father was born in the Dutch East Indies and had a mother from Madura, but was ‘repatriated’ to the Netherlands on a very young age. He married into a typically Calvinist Dutch family and lived in the port city of Rotterdam...
(1905–1991) - Rob NieuwenhuysRob NieuwenhuysRob Nieuwenhuys was a Dutch writer of Indo descent. The son of a 'Totok' Dutchman and an Indo-European mother, he and his younger brother Roelof, grew up in Batavia, where his father was the managing director of the renowned Hotel des Indes .His Indies childhood profoundly influenced his life...
(1908–1999) - Tjalie RobinsonTjalie RobinsonTjalie Robinson is the main alias of the Indo intellectual and writer Jan Boon also known as Vincent Mahieu. His father Cornelis Boon, a KNIL sergeant, was Dutch and his Indo-European mother Fela Robinson was part English and Javanese...
(1911–1974) - Adriaan van DisAdriaan van DisAdriaan van Dis is a Dutch author, with Indo roots, who debuted in 1983 with the novella Nathan Sid. He is also known as the host of his own television show.-Youth:...
(1946- ) - Ernst JanszErnst JanszErnst Gideon Jansz is one of the founding members and frontmen of Doe Maar. Doe Maar is a Dutch 1980s ska/reggae band, and is considered one of the most successful bands in Dutch pop history....
(1948- )