In a special edition of Het Vrije Woord (vol. 67, no. 1) dedicated to the laureates, archivist Sofie Vrielynck , one of the eulogists, wrote: "In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we visited Payoke to take a look at the archives, as renovations were underway. Patsy showed us around the building and explained the boxes, documents, and photos. Our visit lasted longer than planned, but we left Antwerp with many stories, a wealth of archives, and, above all, great wonder."
As I process the archive, my sense of wonder increasingly turns into admiration, but also sometimes bewilderment at all the heavy files.
The more papers I work through, the more impressed I am by Patsy's hard work, sense of injustice, perseverance, self-reflection, determination... In short, I have a great deal of respect for her, and... perhaps that will grow even more, because apparently there's another room with archives...
The archive that has already been processed is available for consultation and reflects lifelong dedication.
