'Cooking for Children. Wonderful', 13 September 2019.
Renske de Greef is a Dutch columnist and artist. Since 2000, she has written columns for magazines and newspapers such as Spunk, De Morgen, nrc.next and MacFan, as well as a couple of novels. She has a weekly comics column called 'Renske Stript' (2015- ) in NRC Handelsblad, tackling everyday observations and irritations.
Early life
Renske de Greef was born in 1984 in Utrecht in the central Dutch province of the same name. During childhood, she was an avid doodler, and inherited her preference for the absurd and the macabre humor of authors like Roald Dahl from her father, who works in the medical world. Her mother is a graphic designer. De Greef had the ambition to become a comic artist, but backed out because she felt she wasn't technically skilled enough. Instead she turned to writing.
Spunk
Only sixteen years old, De Greef became a columnist for the youth magazine Spunk. Working for the magazine between 2000 and 2004, she especially came to notice with her column about sex and relationships, 'Lust' (2002-2004). In 2005, her columns were collected in book format by Nijgh & Van Ditmar under the title 'Lust: Liefde, Seks en Bambihertjes'. With former Spunk editor Jan Hoek, she subsequently wrote the book 'Ja/Nee: Geef Me Alsjeblieft Aandacht/Laat Me Toch Met Rust' (2006). The two spent a large part of 2008 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to set up a youth magazine. On that year's World AIDS Day, she released 'Seks in Afrika: Tongzoenen, Flirten, Rites en Aids' (Spunk, 2008), a book based on conversations she had during a trip through four African countries.
Columnist
Between 2005 and 2009, Renske de Greef had a weekly column in the Flemish newspaper De Morgen, and in 2010 she filled Aaf Brandt Corstius' daily spot in nrc.next. Since 2012, her nrc.next column has appeared in alternation with Marcel van Roosmalen's. De Greef's columns for this Dutch newspaper have been collected in the books 'Vraagstukken Voor Telaatkomers, Funda-verslaafden en Mensen Die Hun Printer Niet Vertrouwen' (Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 2013) and 'Geen Paniek - Over Ongemakkelijke Situaties en Andere Feestelijkheden' (De Arbeiderspers, 2013). She has also written columns and editorials for JOIN (2009), MacFan (2014- ) and other magazines.
Books
In 2007, publisher Meulenhoff released Renske de Greef's first novel, 'Was Alles Maar Konijnen', a story described as a "whimsical fairy tale about loneliness and longing". In 2007, she also wrote a contribution to 'Er Was Geenszins' (Oogachtend, 2007), an absurd fairy tale book aimed at an adult audience, for which Kim Duchateau provided the illustrations. Her time in Dar es Salaam served as an inspiration for 'En Je Ziet Nog Eens Wat' (Meulenhoff, 2009), her next novel delving into a new subculture: young volunteers in Africa. With Karlijn Souren and Andreia Costa, she wrote the book 'Watertanden' (Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 2013) and with Ringo Maurer, she compiled 'Troika Hier, Troika Daar. Drs. P, Het Allermooiste Bij elkaar' (Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 2015), a compendium with the best work of the iconic Dutch "light verse" poet Drs. P.
"The Lost Words Reserve" and "We Should Abolish The Question 'How Are You'"?
Renske stript
A trip to the Galapagos Islands stirred up De Greef's knack for drawing again. She wanted to chronicle her experiences, but felt that writing seemed too much like working. Back home, she continued to draw about her everyday observations, and eventually presented these columns to the editors of the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. Much to her own surprise, the paper was eager to run them, and 'Renske Stript' commenced its weekly publication in 2015. Instead of a comic in the traditional way, Renske's drawn columns are handwritten articles with sequential illustrations. The author gives her own comical view on the everyday happenings and irritations of modern life. All kinds of subjects pass in review, varying from motherhood, online shopping, the desperation of New Year's get-togethers and small talk, vegetarianism, social shaming, birth control, Netflix, politics and gender roles. Her aim is not to attack or preach, although her sense of humor has its cynical streaks. In an interview published in Het Parool on 11 July 2020, De Greef explained she sees her comics as a "self-study about the question why something is like it is, and if that's pleasant, and that you can look at things from different angles". Her comics have been collected by Nijgh & Van Ditmar in the books 'Waarom Ik Mensen Niet in Mootjes Hak' (2017), 'Gewoon Even Optimaal Genieten' (2020) and 'Mamamorfose' (2022), the latter her first graphic novel, dealing with her pregnancy and first year of motherhood.
Other activities
Renske de Greef wrote the script for the short film 'Tienminutengesprek' (2018), and also served as a scriptwriter for the third season of the TV comedy series 'De Regels van Floor' (2019). She also designs and applies tattoos, and sells personally designed postcards through her website.
Cartoon.