Marjolijn Hof was born in Amsterdam in 1956. Shortly afterwards she moved to The Hague.
She grew up in a treasure house. Not only was her father a psychologist but also an artist and art collector.
There were bookcases everywhere – Marjolijn could always find something to read.
At an early age she was already making books with stories and drawings.
She loved to be alone tinkering on something or other. She had some strange notions about realising her ideas, so the result was always rather odd, like knotty knitted pot-holders or drawings that didn’t fit on the paper. Everyone thought her most creative, but Marjolijn was invariably disappointed with the result. She wanted to make something normal
but it never quite worked out.
Marjolijn went to primary school from 1960-1969.
The playground was exciting and the dunes started nearby. It was an adventure to cycle around. There was a smell of eglantine and a bike could turn into a horse. (But only if no one was near.)
In her final year at the primary school Marjolijn wrote a play. Be careful Saint Nicholas. There was a performance.
Marjolijn wanted to become a children’s book writer or an artist. But not an actress. She had acted in her own play and found it scary. She had to wear a dress with sequins and she had wobbly knees.
At the secondary modern school Marjolijn was hopeless at mathematics but had a flair for languages. She read poems and novels and was even briefly editor of the school magazine. She began stories which stopped halfway and she made a lot of drawings. She still wanted to do something arty but to write was still a pipe dream.
After passing her exams Marjolijn had some odd jobs.
In 1977 she went to the Library and Documentation College. At least it was connected with books. She studied first in The Hague and then moved to Amsterdam.
She found work as soon as her study was completed. She moved to Krommenie and worked full time till the birth of her daughter Jotte. She married Otto.
She still longed to really write and she made bits and pieces of poems and short stories – mostly without a beginning or end. The poems were for adults and the stories nearly always for children. That was a conscious choice. Marjolijn had grown up with magical children’s books and as a librarian she had specialised in children’s literature. (She is still amazed when asked when she’s going to write a real book. She explains for the umptheenth time that children’s books are written with just as much love and craftsmanship as novels.)
Writing became increasingly important. Marjolijn attended Writers School ‘t Colofon.
She contributed short stories to collected works.
Trying to combine all her activities left her with very little time. The decision was finally made in 1999. After almost twenty years Marjolijn gave up her job as librarian. Writing was now her vocation.
