I have been super fortunate over the past months to have been invited to two awesome projects that brought me out of my comfort zone. As some of you know, I have always felt more comfortable with writing than public speaking, so appearing in the ether had not been a high priority. But these two projects might actually start to change that!
Salon du Livre des Premières Nations
Last semester I was invited to create a podcast episode on my research about Indigenous literatures for the Salon du Livre des Premières Nations (a bookfair dedicated to Indigenous literatures). While I found recording myself (and then listening to my own voice, French, and presentation) very awkward and uncomfortable, the fact that I was about to share my passion with others who are just as passionate about Indigenous literatures kept me going, and pushed me to do better. I’m hoping for future opportunities like this one, because, after all, practice makes perfect. For now, you can listen to the episode “Les littératures autochtones à la croisée des langues” (in French) on Kwahiatonhk’s website (scroll down to ‘Balado Lire en relation #7’), Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
NPO Radio 1: De Nacht van… BNNVARA
Following a post on social media from the program makers of “De Nacht van… BNNVARA” (The Night of… BNNVARA), a show that interviews Dutchies living abroad, I was invited to come talk about my experience in Canada. This was my radio debut, and it was so much fun! Merel, the host of the show, and I talked about how I ended up in Canada, about the winter weather, differences between the Netherlands and Canada, the relation between Indigenous people and ‘Canadians’, and police violence (which was the show’s general theme) towards Indigenous peoples. I don’t often get to talk about my research in Dutch with anyone else than my family and friends, so I was happy to get this opportunity to share this with the rest of the Netherlands. You can listen to the radio fragment (in Dutch) on NPO Radio 1’s website.
MALOU BROUWER 