Amsterdam Diaries, Life Writing and Identity
Urban Lives
Published on 29. October 2025
Book
Hardback
290 pages
978-90-485-6973-1 (ISBN)
Description
This volume invites readers to rediscover Amsterdam through the intimate lens of its inhabitants. Amsterdam Diaries, Life Writing and Identity offers a rich and layered portrayal of the city through the self-narratives of 'ordinary' individuals from the eighteenth century to the present. Exploring diaries, letters, oral histories and digital self-expressions, this volume reveals how people have experienced, navigated, and shaped their urban environment across time. It bridges life writing studies and urban history, shedding light on questions of identity, belonging, and the emotional bonds between individuals and the city. Special attention is given to marginalised voices, including migrant experiences, and to the evolving forms of self-representation in the digital age. Expanding the boundaries of life writing, the collection even incorporates non-human perspectives, such as dogs and bicycles. Together, these diverse narratives offer a kaleidoscopic view of life in Amsterdam, illustrating how the city is both a shared space and a deeply personal landscape.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Academic
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
12 s/w Abbildungen, 4 farbige Abbildungen
16 Halftones, black and white; 16 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
700 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-485-6973-1 (9789048569731)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Laura Hasselt | Marleen Rensen | Leonieke Vermeer
Amsterdam Diaries, Life Writing and Identity
Urban Lives
E-Book
10/2025
Routledge
€56.99
Available for download
Laura Hasselt | Marleen Rensen | Leonieke Vermeer
Amsterdam Diaries, Life Writing and Identity
Urban Lives
E-Book
10/2025
Routledge
€56.99
Available for download
Persons
Marleen Rensen is a senior lecturer in Modern European Literature at the University of Amsterdam. She specializes in literary engagement and life writing and has a particular interest in the lives of French and German artists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Content
01. Introduction: Amsterdam in Diaries and Life Writing Coming of Age 02. Her Visual Diary: How Anne Frank's Picture Walls Evoke the War Lives of Other Women from Amsterdam 03. Coming of Age in Amsterdam: From Els Eilers to Els Borst 04. Surinamese Diaspora and Belonging in Amsterdam: Childhood Memories of Ruud Beeldsnijder Belonging 05. Jane Hoyake's Amsterdam Diaries: Life in a City under Siege 06. Roaming Amsterdam in Search of Stability: Postwar Arrivals from Indonesia Represented in Diaries 07. Art, Love, Freedom: The Amsterdam Diaries of Isik Tuezuener Routes and Routines 08. Fetching Dogs from Depositions: Examining Canine Agency in Early Modern Conflict Stories 09. The Amsterdam Diaries of Netje Asser and Hanna da Costa-Belmonte 10. Clearing the Deck: The Diaries of Skipper Adriaan Doorneveld Digital lives 11. Diaries, Amsterdam and the Post-digital 12. Mapping Urban Spaces Through Personal Stories: Story Maps and Deep Maps of Amsterdam 13. Mapping Lives: The Amsterdam Diaries Time Machine Creative Section 14. Part 1. The Many Lives of an Amsterdam Bicycle; Part 2. Reflection: Life Writing and Creative Writing 15. The Mega-Mosaics of Fabrice Huend 16. Exploring Urban Lives of Amsterdam through Mezrab: Empowerment, Emplacement, and Community Building via Storytelling 17. Amsterdam through a (Trans)national Gaze: A Conversation with Life Writing Author Alejandra Ortiz 18. Archives and Other Stories of the Self or the Importance of Being Earnest