Paul Mercken by Kees Wennekendonk, 2014
Short Biography
Paul Mercken, °1934 Leuven, Belgium, grew up in Hasselt, Belgium, attended primary and high school (gymnasium) at the college St. Joseph there, Ph.D. Higher Institute of Philosophy, Catholic University Leuven, and Licentiate (Masters) in the Letters. His interest lay in the study of the sources of medieval philosophy, especially in the field of Aristotelian ethics. His first publication won a prize of he Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium. After finishing his military duty he was able to continue with this study, thanks to the Belgian National Foundation for Scientific Research, in Cambridge, Oxford and Florence. Subsequently he taught mainly history of philosophy in the USA, Italy and the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. [continue reading]
This trilingual1 catalogue serves various ends. In the first place it serves as a memory aid for myself. Further it gives friends and acquaintances that are interested in my collection the opportunity to get to know it. Moreover it brings the art works that it contains within the reach of the general public.
My apartment is not a museum. Apart from whether I even should wish it or not, the fact that it is a part of a specific building complex makes this impossible. I belong to the association the senior community DE GRONDSLSAG (THE FOUNDATION) of Bunnik, the Netherlands. Hence, a systematic exhibition of my collection, whether against payment or not, is out of the question. Even an occasional opening of it, for instance during so-called open door days, requires the permission of the governing body.
Furthermore, it provides the material for a more modest example, which I wanted to enter into the competition Bunnik over Bunnik (Bunnik about Bunnik) 2017, ) 2017, but that project failed to meet the deadline. However, omittance is no acquittance.
Finally, the intention is to make this catalogue interactive. Friends and acquaintances, colleagues from literary and poetry groups. such as the Nederlands dichterspodium (Dutch Poetry Podium) at Werkendam, the Taal-Podium (Literary Podium) Zeist Utrecht, the Poëziecentrum Nederland (Dutch Poetry Centre) in Nijmegen (Nimwegen), the Haiku Kring Nederland (Dutch Haiku Centre, that is the Dutch Haiku Association – HKN) and the Haiku Stichting Nederland (Dutch Haiku Foundation – haiku.nl), and let us not forget the many HKN-kernels, in particular the haiku kernel in Amersfoort Midden-Nederland (the Central Netherlands), all in the Netherlands, and the Haikoe-centrum Vlaanderen (Haiku Centre Flanders), with its kernels, the Digitale kabunkern (internet kabun kernel) DKK and the websites kabunzang.com, tanka-kyoka-sedoka.com, the former members of the unfortunately terminated European Haiku Society, the editor and permanent visitors of ATLAS POETICA, A Journal of World Tanka, the exuberant centipede from the Flemish Elingen Jos De Decker, my good friend Geert Verbeke, (a.o. haiku.nl/geert-verbeke/), simple poet from Kortrijk (Courtrai), Belgium, and whoever wishes to write whatever about one or more of the object of my collection. You are welcome! By the way, music is also an option. This makes me think of Ed Wennink (music) and Nettie Vening from Boyle, Frieslân (Friesland), NL, and Lianne Abeln from Eelde (Groningen) and of course again Geert Verbeke (jazzcat & singing bowls). As well as literary or philosophical prose. Please send it to hpfmercken@gmail.com.
1 The French version is still under construction.