In between all the Sinterklaas related shit of the past few weeks, there was something Sinterklaas-related that pleased my mind for a change. It was the presentation of a new Sinterklaas-book for children, written by the Dutch comedian Herman Finkers. Not that I was very happy with the announcement of his book, but more with the fact that I saw Herman on television again, where he hadn’t shown his face for a long time. You should know that I can get happy in an instant, when I see Herman Finkers on television. And his new book should be a good excuse to explain here why Herman Finkers makes me happy and why he’s the best Dutch comedian ever. If you don’t speak any Dutch, you should learn it, so you can understand Herman Finkers. He deserves it.
‘The course ‘coping with disappointments’ is cancelled again’
You can understand that Herman’s jokes are not so funny in English as they are in Dutch, although the above mentioned can be an exception. It mainly misses the most import nuances as in any translated joke. But it is even more important with Finkers, because of his virtuosity with the Dutch language. Nobody is better with that in the Netherlands, than Finkers. He’s capable of turning the entire Dutch language inside out to find jokes, that are equally simple as they are brilliant. For example, when he is playing as if he’s a newsreader: ‘A caravan was blown away from the Afsluitdijk. 46 people were arrested.’ (If this is not funny, you should learn Dutch) And what makes it even more funny, is the fact that he speaks a special Dutch dialect or accent, known as Twents, which makes funny things simply hilarious.
Herman Finkers as an intern at a psychiatric clinic
Herman Finkers about ‘men and women’ (always a good topic)
Serious songs
Although Herman Finkers is a comedian, his jokes have a serious undertone as well. Finkers got cancer several years ago and in his latest show ‘Na de pauze’, you hear this serious undertone very well. But because he’s a catholic he can make jokes about any painful topic, even about his own problems. Alongside his jokes he also makes beautiful songs in which he is equally melancholic and funny in a very sympathetic way. He can combine beauty and pain in an inimitable way, using his virtuosity in Dutch language. I can go on for ages, with this tribute to Herman Finkers, but the bottom line of this article is; learn the Dutch language, to understand the best thing we have to offer: Herman Finkers. And to top it all off, a short Dutch Sinterklaaspoem from Herman:
Je vroeg een gitaar en een goochelspel
Maar wat denk je wel? Ik ben Sint niet,
Piet
p.s. The title of this article is the conclusion of his best known joke in the Netherlands. Every Dutchie knows this joke about Almelo. Just ask around 😉