Mary Petiet, 55, married a Dutchman, ended up in het Gooi in the Netherlands and during Covid turned a successful self-published book into her own independent publisher, Sea Crow Press. The poet, journalist and writer from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, loves Dutch children’s freedom, a houseful of flowers and the history written into eternal fields, clouds and light.
How did you end up in the Netherlands?
I’ve always wanted to see the world and I really wanted to study medieval history – I got into St Andrew’s in Scotland long before Prince William and married a man I met in my second year. He’s Dutch, we went to Boston then after 9/11, to Cape Cod. Eight years ago, he got a job opportunity in the Netherlands. It was an opportunity to travel, which I’ve always liked doing, and for our two children to have absolute, free-range freedom.
How do you describe yourself – an expat, lovepat, immigrant, international?
I was a reporter, had one book published in the States, and ended up working writing freelance for various outlets. Then Covid hit and assignments dried up. So I thought: “I can’t just be mopping the floor.” I self-published Moon Tide, Cape Cod Poems, and it started to sell. So I got more books from other authors and that’s how Sea Crow Press began!
There was a really good article about the expat bubble which my Dutch sister-in-law gave to me – it’s about how we are in the bubble but we aren’t allowed to get out. It’s tough! I have such a strong community on Cape Cod and I miss them. But I’m a combination – an international lovepat, a searcher and a traveller. I live between here and Massachusetts and I’m happy to do that.
How long do you plan to stay?
We’re happy to be here now and we appraise it on a yearly basis, based on what the kids are doing, what we’re doing. In five years? I think I’ll be on Cape Cod or I’ll be in Italy: I love the sunshine, I love the warmth, I love the culture, I love the food. I think the people are charming. I think I’ve been my most relaxed ever in Italy.
Do you speak Dutch and how did you learn?
I’ve studied Dutch for five years. I’m probably at a low B2: it’s alright, not great. I think it is important when you move to a country. You want to learn the language and I’ve done all that. I love to eavesdrop. Writers eavesdrop all the time. So now I can eavesdrop the Dutch. I get excited when it works out, because in English I’m always listening!
What’s your favourite Dutch thing?
I like what it can give children. We had Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012 and we really have come to a point where schools are fortified. They’ve architecturally redesigned them so even if they know you, you have to go through stages of security.
What’s good about Netherlands is that every time I walk through the school door, it’s wide open like I’d imagine it should be. And it’s just such a blessing to have that freedom because you’re not really free if you’re living in fear and your schools are fortresses. When I see a five-year-old alone on their bike going down the road, that freedom is amazing.
How Dutch have you become?
We speak English at home. My husband’s English is as fluent as mine and we went completely native in the US…although he was putting Jimmies – hagelslag – on his bread, when they go on ice cream. They don’t go on bread. The kids loved it, of course.
Since we came here, my daughter has learned Dutch and gone pretty native – my son has kept more American. But if you speak Dutch, the Dutch answer in English, so I don’t know how to build it up.
Which three Dutch people (dead or alive) would you most like to meet?
Hieronymus Bosch, the surrealist painter: I’d ask him what was going on? Harry Mulish: I’m a fan of his, he’s accessible as he’s translated into English, and now might be a good time to read his novel, Sigfried. And I would love to have coffee with Mata Hari.
What’s your top tourist tip?
Go to the Rijksmuseum! You should go there and look at the art and give yourself enough time, even if you aren’t into art. Go anyway. You can see Dutch paintings from the Golden Age…and then go out and see the fields. It’s still the same view: the clouds and fields. Nothing has changed. It’s like time travel.
Tell us something surprising you have found out about the Netherlands
The light! Cape Cod has a similar light – the light is low, the water reflects to the sky and it’s pretty flat too. The Dutch masters painted that light and, where I’m from, it’s just the same. But I paint with words.
If you had just 24 hours left in the Netherlands, what would you do?
I would wander around Amsterdam, walk through the Negen Straatjes, get some bitterballen. I would go to the ABC American Book Center on the Spui, which is my favourite place because of the books! Then I’d check out some outdoor markets and buy a big armful of tulips. That’s one Dutch thing I love – I love the flowers.
