My mission in Amsterdam

I believe that historical knowledge should not be hidden behind the veils of post-modern scholarship, remote and encoded in specialized language but, instead, openly accessible to all listeners. To do this I have taken my preexisting knowledge in history and fiction writing to create compelling walking tours. But to just have the facts is not enough, truth be told that's where many guides in this city go wrong in their tours. This is where I try to do something different, by placing just as much value on the delivery of the tour itself. To do this I again draw from my experience in theatre and public speaking to orate my material with emotion and animation. To me, the guide holds a crucial position not only to educate or entertain, but to preserve the historical memory of those who walked before us, and to furthermore use this memory to create positive and lasting change upon our contemporary audiences.

If I allow myself to be romantic. I imagine a future where open air lectures in public spaces becomes part of city culture; where historians, philosophers and poets are given a space to engage audiences not only for tourists, or for some financial gain, but to the locals themselves. In our contemporary world, the idea of community is fading, and Amsterdam slips further into its title of being a lonely city. But there are ways to remedy this.

To battle this isolation, and rekindle community, there must be refurbishment of collective memory, a reverence of common mythology, and a mapping of cultural DNA, all woven into the fabric of a city's cultural tapestry through the use of oral histories. In the end, this is the future I wish to work for - to bridge the gap between past and present, to use this passage to create mutual connection and, which is more, to work towards the further prospering of a city I have come to love.