A coffee table book? No, not quite - this little publication is a Chihuahua of a coffee table book.
Why a book? Because of a love of words and letters (and people). And actually, also editing. I think I feel the same way about certain books, as some wine connoisseurs feel about some wines: the event, the sensation, the company, the memory.
If you were to ask, "What are your favourite books?" I would show you a few, usually memoirs. letters, interviews or autobiographies. I have often wished I could capture the stories of some of the innovative, creative, imaginary worlds which many of the little individuals I work with, inhabit. Their drawings mostly fail the 'draw-a man' test, but the detail says so much more - especially if you ask them for an interpretation.
Snapshots and Tapas is a little like 'sips and dips' of life. Read a snippet or a vignette and you might
spot familiar places or characters - locally or as a memory which pops up from somewhere vaguely
familiar.
The more I listen and learn, the more the mist evaporates. Yes, the muse needs to be in the wings, but so much is within. Daily fragments from outside drift in, quietly consolidate and settle gently as
memories from which to begin.
Snapshots & Tapas by Michèle van Niekerk (Hardback)
Dr Michèle van Niekerk is a paediatrician in private practice in the Overberg, Western Cape, South Africa. She has always enjoyed words & writing and had her first poem published in English Alive, during her High School years.
She used to contribute esoteric essays to Whale talk, a local ‘fishing village’ publication. Her interests include photography, cycling, hiking, amateur birdwatching, Yoga & Pilates, camping and reading autobiographies and memoirs. Her practice is currently slanted towards the growing fields of neurodiversity and neurodivergence.
Why she finds neurodiversity so fascinating, is because of the untapped potential in so many neurodivergent youngsters.
What might initially present as learning challenges or a fractious relationship with words, peers or parents, might ultimately translate into architectural masterpieces, or dyslexic, imaginative journals morphing into other-worldly movies, games & stories or innovative achievements not unlike those of specific geniuses of yesteryear.
