Richard de Nooy

Author's details

Biography

Richard de Nooy (1965) grew up in South Africa and vowed to travel the world. He didn’t get much further than Amsterdam, where he has lived for the past 25 years. He spends his days writing and translating and staring at the sky, trying to guess where the planes are going. He will be mapping his ignorance of the world’s cities from his desk chair, using his preferred mode of transport; the worldwide web. He hopes readers will excuse his ignorance and help fill the vast gaps in his knowledge with entertaining and enlightening anecdotes about their home towns. Richard de Nooy’s novels have been published in English and Dutch. You’ll find further information on his site www.richarddenooy.com. Photo by Stefanie Grätz

Latest posts

  1. My Father and the Sunflowers — May 3, 2013
  2. You Vee Double-You Ex Why Zzzzz — April 12, 2013
  3. Wandering Art — March 29, 2013
  4. “Hey, they all start with T!” — March 15, 2013
  5. Musical masters painting in perfect unison — February 22, 2013

Author's posts listings

03
May
posted by Richard de Nooy at 10:07 comment View Comments

“He’s too far gone to read anything, dear,” said my mother, “but he still loves looking at photos.” So I bought a picture book full of the world’s greatest paintings and flew to Johannesburg. That was the last gift I ever gave my father. He pretended to recognise me when I went to visit him.… read more »

12
Apr
posted by Richard de Nooy at 10:48 comment View Comments

All things must come to an end, and the alphabet is certainly no exception. In the last blog of this series, we’ll be taking a look at the origin of city names starting with the letters U (0), V (3), W (3), X (1), Y (0) and Z (1). By popular demand, I’ll once again… read more »

29
Mar
posted by Richard de Nooy at 10:17 comment View Comments

“Can you draw this for me?” I ask. He unfolds the printout. His eyes almost leap out of their sockets when he sees the painting. “Wow! Did you make this? I could never make this, man! This is too hard for me! Much too hard!” “It’s by Johannes Vermeer. But I don’t want an exact… read more »

15
Mar
posted by Richard de Nooy at 11:00 comment View Comments

“We’re bored, Dad.” My daughter Gaia and her friend Jehanne, both twelve, are lounging on the couch, waiting for me to ferry them to their singing lesson. “Wanna help me write my blog?” I ask. “Cool!” they chorus. “What do we have to do?” “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear… read more »

22
Feb
posted by Richard de Nooy at 09:43 comment View Comments

I am a barbarian who knows next to nothing about classical music. Amsterdam boasts one of the world’s greatest orchestras, but I have never seen it perform. I couldn’t tell Beethoven from Mozart or Brahms from Bartok. I didn’t even know that the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; RCO) and Het Concertgebouw (Amsterdam’s Concert Hall)… read more »

08
Feb
posted by Richard de Nooy at 13:00 comment View Comments

Six silent swans soared silently southward Saw Scandinavia’s statuesque Stockholm Solid Stavanger, salt-swept Sandefjord Swooped still, scanning Stuttgart Spotted stunning Seoul, suspenseful Shanghai Staring Singaporeans saw sublime shadows slide Saint-seeking spirits circled splendid São Paulo Sublime San Francisco saw swans sailing south. The first line of this tongue-twister will, no doubt, be familiar to some… read more »

25
Jan
posted by Richard de Nooy at 15:54 comment View Comments

I don’t know where to start. Jasper, my blog whisperer at KLM, has sent me four or five different schedules for the Amsterdam 2013 festivities. I’m spoilt for choice. Shall I start by telling you about the opening of the Rijksmuseum? Or should I delight you with the musical history of the Concertgebouw and its… read more »