Judith Mok
Dutch soprano, author and poet
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Judith Mok (1954 in Bergen, North Holland – 26 November 2024 in Dublin, Ireland) was a Dutch soprano, author and poet.[1] She moved to Ireland in her 40s and released novels and other works in English.[2] Her last book is loosely based on family facts, but with a great deal of fiction.
Early life and education
Judith Mok was born in 1954[3] in Bergen, North Holland, the daughter of Moses (later Maurits) Mok and Riemke Timmermans, who was not Jewish.[4] who met after World War II.[5] Her father was a writer, poet, and translator, and her mother was a housewife and a translator. Mok has an older half-sister who is Dutch and was a pre-adolescent when her grandparents were arrested during World War II.[4]
As a young child, Mok moved back and forth between Bergen and Southern France.[4] At age 14, she entered the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where she was accepted into both the dance and music programs. She eventually studied under Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, a German-born opera soprano who had supported the Nazis and sang at Auschwitz concentration camp . At age 19, Mok published her first short story collection,[6] then graduated the following year.[7]
Career
Mok's career included singing soprano with the opera, as well as writing.[5]
She published her first poetry collection at age 19[6] and published two additional collections.[8] She also published three novels, as well as a memoir, The State of Dark, in which she discussed her family's history related to the Holocaust, including the fact that 163 of her family members were killed.[5][6][9][10] Some of her books were written in English and others in Dutch.
Mok began singing professionally when she was 21 years old.[11] She also provided voice coaching to singers.[5][7]
Personal life
Publications
Anthology contributions
- O'Connor, Rebecca, ed. (2012). "Pirates". Scéalta: Short Stories by Irish Women. Telegram Books. ISBN 978-1-846-59159-4.[13]
Poetry
- Sterkwater (in Dutch). Holland: de Prom. 1985. ISBN 978-9-068-01037-4.
- Materiaal (in Dutch). Holland: de Prom. 1991. ISBN 978-9-068-01284-2.
- Het Feestmaal (in Dutch). Holland: Meulenhoff. 1997. ISBN 978-9-029-05564-2.
- Gods of Babel. Salmon Poetry. 2011. ISBN 978-1-907-05680-2.
Fictional Memoir
- The State of Dark. Dublin: The Lilliput Press. 2022. ISBN 978-1-843-51850-1.
Novels
- Argelozen in het Circus (in Dutch). Holland: Toth. 1992. ISBN 978-9-068-68040-9.
- De Beul (in Dutch). Meulenhoff. 2000. ISBN 978-9-029-05836-0.
- Gael. London: Saqi Books. 2006. ISBN 978-1-846-59193-8.