In 1971, the Vara radio station sent writers Jan Wolkers and Godfried Bomans to the uninhabited island of Rottumerplaat for a retreat. The goal was to have each of them stay there for a week, with a transmitter. They would call in to the radio station, and be broadcast live. Their contact in the studio was Willem Ruis, then 26 years old. Jan Wolkers, painter, sculptor and writer was the most famous of the “new” writers, Godfried an incredibly popular writer of the “old” generation. He was also in much worse shape than Wolkers. To him, his week on Rottumerplaat was hell. He felt ill, depressed, started hallucinating, and the general opinion is that his stay on the island shortened his life. He died shortly after he got off the island. The entire broadcast is available on CD and I’m listening to it, in short stretches, because it is unbearable otherwise. On Terschelling, during this year’s Oerol, they reenacted this whole affair, focusing on the somewhat dubious role of Willem Ruis, who milked Boman’s distress for all it was worth. It’s remarkable how much the voices are alike.
While trawling for videos I found this one, of Tosca Niterink, who reads her ode to Godfried Bomans.
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When I listened the first time I realized that Big Brother is Peanuts compared to this experiment..
Oh yes, I’m struggling through the whole thing on my iPod, and I must say, it is heart breaking. I really should have liked to see how they reenacted it at Oerol.