Els Moor (17 May 1937 – 9 March 2016) was a Dutch-born Surinamese educator, editor and book publisher. She is best known for ''Fa yu e tron leisibakru'', a literary education method for secondary education.
Moor was the chief editor of ''De Ware Tijd Literair'',
and founder of the ''Okopipi'' publishing house.
Biography
Moor was born on 17 May 1937 in
Heemstede
Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands.
History
Heemstede formed around the Castle ''Heemstede'' that was built overlooking the ...
as Elisabeth Henriëtte Pauline Moor. She went to the grammar school in
Hilversum, and received her
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
in Dutch Language and Literature from the
University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
.
Moor was a high school teacher in
Bussum
Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the province of North Holland in the Netherlands near Hilversum. Since 2016, Bussum has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren.
Bussum had ...
for twelve years, and in
Amsterdam-Zuidoost for seven years. At the latter, she developed a passion for child friendly education, teaching the children according their ability.
Suriname
In 1978, Moor moved to
Suriname where she taught at the and the until her retirement in 1997.
In 1992, Moor became the chief editor of the ''De Ware Tijd Literair'', the weekly literary section of ''
De Ware Tijd
''De Ware Tijd'' (English: The True Time) is one of four daily newspapers in Paramaribo, Suriname. , it was the largest-circulation paper in the country, ahead of its rival, ''De West'', and was described as taking a "staunchly independent stance" ...
''. She changed the focus to youth literature, and national and international literature for adults.
The literary section resulted in several book publications, therefore, in 2001, Moor established the publishing house ''Okopipi'' named after the
blue poison dart frog
The blue poison dart frog or blue poison arrow frog (''Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus"'') is a poison dart frog found in the forests surrounded by the Sipaliwini Savanna, which is located in southern Suriname (known in Surinamese Dutch and adja ...
.
Okopipi published work from
Bea Vianen
Beatrice Sylvia Vianen (6 November 1935 in Paramaribo – 6 January 2019) was a Surinamese writer and poet who goes by the name Bea Vianen. Bea Vianen was the first Surinamese woman who had a book published by a Dutch publishing house (Querido).
...
,
Bernardo Ashetu,
Marylin Simons, and
Michiel van Kempen
Michaël Henricus Gertrudis (Michiel) van Kempen (born 4 April 1957) is a Dutch writer, art historian and literary critic. He has written novels, short stories, essays, travel literature and scenarios. He was the compiler of a huge range of anth ...
among others.
Moor wanted to reform the education system in Suriname. In 1998, she developed ''Fa yu e tron leisibakru'' (
Sranan Tongo
Sranan Tongo (also Sranantongo "Surinamese tongue," Sranan, Surinaams, Surinamese, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a ''lingua franca'' by approximately 550,000 people in Suriname.
Developed originally amo ...
: How do you become a bookworm), a literary education method for secondary education. The literary education no longer solely focused on
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
, but also Sranan Tongo, the creole spoken in Suriname, received emphasis. Moor considered it important that people learned about their own city, and their own culture.
In 2000, after her retirement as a teacher, she started to teach Dutch to the
Tiriyó people
The Tiriyó (also known as Trio) are an Amerindian ethnic group native to parts of northern Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana. In 2014, there were approximately 3,640 Tiriyó in the three countries. They live in several major villages and a number of ...
in
Kwamalasamutu
Kwamalasamutu, also Kwamalasamoetoe, is a Tiriyó Amerindian village in the Sipaliwini District of Suriname, and home to the granman (paramount chief) of the northern Trios. Kwamalasamutu is the biggest village of the Tiriyó tribe.
History
The ...
,
because Moor felt that education in the
interior was being neglected.
Moor remained the chief editor of ''De Ware Tijd Literair'' until her death.
On 9 March 2016, Moor died in
Paramaribo
Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname' ...
at the age of 78.
References
External links
Els Moor at the Digital Library for Dutch Literature(in Dutch - ''Je bent wat je wil zijn'' available for free download)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moor, Els
1937 births
2016 deaths
Literary critics
People from Heemstede
Surinamese educators
Surinamese women writers
University of Amsterdam alumni
Women book publishers (people)