Judith Mok

Judith Mok (born 1954 in Bergen, North Holland) is a Dutch soprano, author and poet. She lives in Ireland and has released novels and other works in English. Her last book is loosely based on family facts, but with a great deal of fiction.

Early life and education

Judith Mok was born in 1958[1] in Bergen, North Holland, the daughter of Moses (later Maurits) Mok and Riemke Timmermans,who was not Jewish.[2] who met after World War II.[3] Her father was a writer, poet, and translator, and her mother was a housewife and a translator. Mok has an older half-sister who is Dutch and was a pre-adolescent when her grandparents were arrested during World War II.[2]

As a young child, once Mok moved back and forth between Bergen and Southern France.[2] At age 14, she entered the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where she was accepted into both the dance and music programs. She eventually studied under Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, a German-born opera soprano who had supported the Nazis and sang at Auschwitz concentration camp . At age 19, Mok published her first short story collection,[4] then graduated the following year.[5]

Career

Mok's career has included singing soprano with the opera, as well as writing.[3]

She published her first poetry collection at age 19[4] and has since published additional collections.[6] She has also published three novels, as well as a memoir, The State of Dark, in which she discusses her family's history related to the Holocaust, including the fact that 163 of her family members were killed.[3][4][7][8] Some of her books are written in English and others in Dutch.

Mok began singing professionally when she was 21 years old.[9] As of 2021, she also provides voice coaching to singers.[3][5]

Personal life

Mok was married to a Frenchman for six months, ending shortly after Mok met poet and critic Michael O'Loughlin in Barcelona. Mok became pregnant with O'Loughlin's daughter, Saar; the couple married in 1988,[10] then moved to Ireland in 2002.[2][4]

She speaks six languages.

Publications

Anthology contributions

• O'Connor, Rebecca, ed. (2012). "Pirates". Scéalta: Short Stories by Irish Women. Telegram Books. ISBN 978-1-846-59159-4.[11]

Poetry

• Sterkwater (in Dutch). Holland: de Prom. 1985. ISBN 978-9-068-01037-4.
• Materiaal (in Dutch). Holland: de Prom. 1991. ISBN 978-9-068-01284-2.
• Het Feestmaal (in Dutch). Holland: Meulenhoff. 1997. ISBN 978-9-029-05564-2.
• Gods of Babel. Salmon Poetry. 2011. ISBN 978-1-907-05680-2.

Fictional Memoir

• The State of Dark. Dublin: The Lilliput Press. 2022. ISBN 978-1-843-51850-1.

Novels

• Argelozen in het Circus (in Dutch). Holland: Toth. 1992. ISBN 978-9-068-68040-9.
• De Beul (in Dutch). Meulenhoff. 2000. ISBN 978-9-029-05836-0.
• Gael. London: Saqi Books. 2006. ISBN 978-1-846-59193-8.

References

1. "The state of dark / Judith Mok". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
2. Ríordáin, Clíona Ní (25 May 2023). "Interview with Judith Mok". Études Irlandaises. 48–1 (48–1): 103–109. doi:10.4000/etudesirlandaises.14941. ISSN 0183-973X.
3. McGuiggan, James Camien (4 January 2023). "So That They are Not Lost". The Journal of Music . Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
4. Lee, Jenny (25 September 2023). "Dutch soprano and vocal coach to the stars Judith Mok recounts her family's Holocaust losses". The Irish News. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
5. Smither, Tanis (11 May 2021). "Interview: Renowned vocal coach Judith Mok discusses Ireland's ever-growing pool of talent". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
6. Huber, Werner; Mayer, Sandra; Novak, Julia, eds. (2012). Ireland in, and Europe: cross-currents and exchanges. Irish studies in Europe. Trier: Wiss. Verl. Trier. ISBN 978-3-86821-421-5.
7. Bolger, Dermot (15 October 2022). "The State of Dark: Powerful memoir gives voice to a family the Nazis tried to silence". Business Post. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
8. Dhuibhne, Éilís Ní (12 November 2022). "The State of Dark by Judith Mok: a memoir beyond the ordinary". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
9. Angulo, Sergio (20 September 2012). "Judith Mok: Spanish is Great for Poetry". The Instituto Cervantes. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
10. Smith, Andrea (18 September 2011). "The never-ending love story". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
11. Vaupel, Angela (2012). "Exile, Migration, and 'The Other' in Contemporary Irish Writing". In Huber, Werner; Mayer, Sandra; Novak, Julia (eds.). Ireland in, and Europe: cross-currents and exchanges. Irish studies in Europe. Trier: Wiss. Verl. Trier. pp. 161–172. ISBN 978-3-86821-421-5.

External links

• Jadot, Marie (27 November 2023). "Étrangeté et musicalité dans l'œuvre de Judith Mok". VI Convegno Internazionale di Letteratura e Psicanalisi. University of Liège. hdl:2268/311614.