100 Dutch-Language Poems

Dutch Poets

A millennium expressed through poems from the Low Countries

Sample Passages

  • Boutade

    O land van mest en mist, van vuilen, kouden regen,
    Doorsijperd stukske grond, vol killen dauw en damp,
    Vol vuns, onpeilbaar slijk en ondoorwaadbre wegen,
    Vol jicht en parapluies, vol kiespijn en vol kramp!

    O saaie brij-moeras, o erf van overschoenen,
    Van kikkers, baggerlui, schoenlappers, moddergoôn,
    Van eenden groot en klein, in allerlei fatsoenen,
    Ontvang het najaarswee van uw verkouden zoon!

    Uw kliemerig klimaat maakt mij het bloed in de aderen
    Tot modder; ’k heb geen lied, geen honger, vreugd noch vreê.
    Trek overschoenen aan, gewijde grond der Vaderen,
    Gij – niet op mijn verzoek – ontwoekerd aan de zee.

    P.A. DE GÉNESTET 1829-1861
    © English Translation: John Irons

    Oh land of filth and fog, of vile rain chill and stinging,
    A sodden fetid plot of vapours dank and damp,
    A vast expanse of mire and blocked roads clogged and clinging,
    Brimful of gamps and gout, of toothache and of cramp!

    Oh dreary mushy swamp, oh farmyard of galoshes,
    With marsh frogs, dredgers, cobblers, mud gods overrun,
    With every shape and size of duck that therein sploshes,
    Receive this autumn dirge from your besnotted son!

    To mud your claggy climate makes my blood set slowly;
    Song, hunger, joy and peace are all withheld from me.
    Pull your galoshes on, ancestral ground most holy,
    You – not at my request – once wrested from the sea.

  • List of Poems

    1    Anon, Hebban Olla vogala (JI)
    2    Hendrik van Veldeke, Swer ze der minne ist sô vruot (JI)
    3    Anon, from Van den vos Reynaerde (JI)
    4    Jacob van Maerlant, from Der Naturen Bloeme (PV)
    5    Jan van Brabant, Ic sach noyt so roden mont (PV)
    6    Anon, Heer Halewijn (PV)
    7    Hadewijch, Dat suetste van minnen (PV)
    8    Anon, Egidius, waer bestu bleven? (JI)
    9    Anon, Het waren twee koninghs kindren (PV)
    10    Anon, Ghequetst ben ic van binnen (JI)
    11    Anna Bijns, Refereyn (JI)
    12    Anon, Het daghet inden Oosten (JI)
    13    Anthonis de Roovere, Rondeel (PV)
    14    Jan van der Noot, Sonet (PV)
    15    Pieter Cornelisz. Hooft, Geswinde grijsaert (PV)
    16    Gerbrand Adriaensz. Bredero, Geestigh liedt (PV)
    17    Jacobus Revius, Scheppinge (JI)
    18    Joost van den Vondel, Uitvaert van mijn dochterken (PV)
    19    Maria Tesselschade Roemers Visscher, Aen mijn Heer Hooft (PV)
    20    Constantijn Huygens, Dichtens kracht (PV)
    21    Jan Luiken, Air (PV)
    22    Aagje Deken, De zielsvriendin (PV)
    23    Willem Bilderdijk, Aan den Hollandschen wal (PV)
    24    A.C.W. Staring, Herdenking (PV)
    25    De Schoolmeester (Gerrit van de Linde Jzn.), De aap (PV)
    26    E.J. Potgieter, Holland (PV)
    27    P.A. de Génestet, Boutade (JI)
    28    Guido Gezelle, ’t Er viel ’ne keer (FJ)
    29    Piet Paaltjens, De zelfmoordenaar (PV)
    30    Hélène Swarth, Troost (PV)
    31    Willem Kloos, De bomen dorren in het laat seizoen (JI)
    32    J.A. Dèr Mouw, Kent iemand dat gevoel (JI)
    33    Herman Gorter, De stille weg (PV)
    34    J.H. Leopold, Om mijn oud woonhuis peppels staan (JI)
    35    Albert Verwey, De terrassen van Meudon (PV)
    36    P.C. Boutens, Nacht-Stilte (JI)
    37    Willem Elsschot, Het huwelijk (PV)
    38    J.C. Bloem, De Dapperstraat (JI)
    39    P.N. van Eyck, De tuinman en de dood (JI)
    40    Martinus Nijhoff, De moeder de vrouw (JI)
    41    Paul van Ostaijen, Melopee (PV)
    42    J. Slauerhoff, Woningloze (PV)
    43    H. Marsman, Herinnering aan Holland (PV)
    44    Jan Engelman, Vera Janacopoulos (PV)
    45    Gerrit Achterberg, Jachtopziener (PV)
    46    Ida Gerhardt, Het carillon (JI)
    47    M. Vasalis, De idioot in het bad (PV)
    48    Jan Hanlo, Niet ongelijk (PV)
    49    Leo Vroman, Bloemen (JI)
    50    Bert Schierbeek, Ik denk (PV)
    51    Paul Rodenko, Bommen (PV)
    52    Hanny Michaelis, Onzichtbaar (PV)
    53    Gerrit Kouwenaar, Totaal witte kamer (PV)
    54    Lucebert, Ik tracht op poëtische wijze (PV)
    55    Hans Andreus, De lege kamer blijft de lege kamer (PV)
    56    Remco Campert, Poëzie is een daad (PV)
    57    Hugo Claus, In Flanders Fields (JI)
    58    Hans Faverey, Zodra ik mijn ogen opsla (PV)
    59    Judith Herzberg, Een kinderspiegel (PV)
    60    Rutger Kopland, Onder de appelboom (JI)
    61    C.O. Jellema, Bijvoorbeeld het lichaam (PV)
    62    H.H. ter Balkt, Hymne aan de walnotenboom (JI)
    63    H.C. ten Berge, Nemrud Dagh (PV)
    64    Toon Tellegen, Een locomotief (JI)
    65    Gerrit Komrij, Noli me tangere (JI)
    66    Herman de Coninck, Ginder (PV)
    67    Jules Deelder, Blues on Tuesday (PV)
    68    Anna Enquist, Verzoek aan de schilder (JI)
    69    Frank Koenegracht, Nazomer (PV)
    70    Hester Knibbe, De rivier (JI)
    71    Leonard Nolens, Zeg aan de kinderen dat wij niet deugen (PV)
    72    Anneke Brassinga, Tot God (JI)
    73    Eva Gerlach, Solve et coagula (JI)
    74    Martin Reints, Oud vergaderzaaltje (JI)
    75    Stefan Hertmans, Marsyas (PV)
    76    Willem Jan Otten, Op de hoge (JI)
    77    Joke van Leeuwen, Er woonde op de aarde (JI)
    78    Tonnus Oosterhoff, Een goed mens is iets heel eenvoudigs (JI)
    79    Arjen Duinker, XXIV (JI)
    80    Esther Jansma, Bodemonderzoek (JI)
    81    K. Michel, Ook de vissen (PV)
    82    Anne Vegter, Showen en trippen (PV)
    83    Erik Menkveld, De nieuwe vis (JI)
    84    Erik Spinoy, Op het Jodenkerkhof  (JI)
    85    Nachoem M. Wijnberg, Zachte huid (JI)
    86    Rogi Wieg, Geen revolver (JI)
    87    Erwin Mortier, Brief achtentwintig (JI)
    88    Menno Wigman, Zwembad den Dolder (JI)
    89    Erik Lindner, Het raam maakt een kier (PV)
    90    Ingmar Heytze, Voor de liefste onbekende (PV)
    91    Tjitske Jansen, De Sneeuwkoningin (JI)
    92    Hagar Peeters, Ook wij, Titaantjes (JI)
    93    Alfred Schaffer, Daar horen we engelen zingen (JI)
    94    Maria Barnas, Vatnajökull (JI)
    95    Ramsey Nasr, In het land der koningen (PV)
    96    Tsead Bruinja, Brandend huis (Baarnend hûs) (JI)
    97    Mustafa Stitou, Hartkloppingen (PV)
    98    Kira Wuck, Eenzaamheid ruikt naar kalfslever in een ovenschaal (JI)
    99    Ester Naomi Perquin, De laatste onbekende (PV)
    100    Lieke Marsman, Oerknal (PV)

    PV – Paul Vincent
    JI – John Irons
    FJ – Francis Jones

Sample Information

Summary

Selected and translated
by
Paul Vincent and John Irons

With an afterword
by
Gaston Franssen

Paul Vincent and John Irons are joint winners of the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize 2016 for 100 Dutch-Language Poems

100 Dutch-Language Poems offers a wonderful new resource to poetry lovers around the world. It covers more than a millennium of poetry; from the very first written words in Dutch, a poem probably scribbled in the 11th century by a Dutch-speaking scribe in England to try out his pen, to the last poem by a young, spirited, award-winning twenty-first century female poet.

Paul Vincent and John Irons have opted to restrict their selection to one poem per poet, no matter how important the poet. They used their own extensive knowledge of Dutch poetry to make a selection of classic, innovative and influential poems which together represent poetry from the Low Countries throughout the ages. They made a special effort to achieve the right balance in terms of earlier versus later, male versus female and North versus South.

All poems, with one exception, have been translated into English by award-winning translators Paul Vincent and John Irons. They have decided to include the original Dutch poems with the translated versions thereby adding an extra dimension to this remarkable publication.

Guido Gezelle’s ’t Er viel ’ne keer (A Little Leaf Once Fluttered) has been translated by Francis Jones using an English dialect.

Paul and John have written a foreword full of interesting details about the selection process. Gaston Franssen, assistant professor of Literary Culture at the University of Amsterdam, has added an afterword in which he discusses how the Low Countries landscape has influenced Dutch-language poetry.

You may not (yet) have read any poems by  Gerrit Achterberg, Paul Rodenko, Gerrit Kouwenaar, Leonard Nolens or Mustafa Stitou and many more, so 100 Dutch-Language Poems will open up a new world of poetry. Take the first Stanza from Boutade by P.A. de Génestet translated by John Irons:

Oh land of filth and fog, of vile rain chill and stinging,
A sodden fetid plot of vapours dank and damp,
A vast expanse of mire and blocked roads clogged and clinging,
Brimful of gamps and gout, of toothache and of cramp!

Bernadette Jansen op de Haar, publisher, commented: ‘Not only am I very excited to publish 100 Dutch-Language Poems, it has also been a delight to welcome old favourites like Heer Halewijn (Lord Halewijn), De tuinman en de dood (The gardener and death ) and Herinnering aan Holland (Memory of Holland)’

100 Dutch-Language Poems, a millennium of Low Countries poetry is:

  • an exciting new overview of Dutch-language poetry;
  • an opportunity to find out which Dutch-language poets to read next;
  • a wonderful comparison of source and translated text covering over a 1000 years;
  • an assessment of how poetry has changed across a millennium.

For all these reasons and more 100 Dutch-Language Poems is not to be missed.

100 Dutch-Language Poems was launched on 23 September 2015, enjoy the photos.

£12.99 – €19.40 – $21.00
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If you want to order in any other way, please email the publisher.

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100 Dutch-Language Poems is distributed in the USA by SPD and in the Netherlands by Centraal Boekhuis.

ISBN: 9781907320491
Number of pages: 284
Price: £0

100 Dutch Language Poems

About the Author
About the Translation

Reviews

‘Where has this anthology been all my life?! A scholarly and literary treasure trove of Dutch-language verse across the centuries. The selection, the translation and the poetry itself are superb. Another black hole in our ignorance of international literature has been filled by this beautiful and important anthology.’ – Rosie Goldsmith, broadcaster & journalist

‘It is high time we had a new volume of Dutch poetry in English translation. Holland Park Press has given us a magnificent one: 100 poems by 100 poets, with women poets amply represented. At long last an anthology that gives readers a sense of the richness and variety of the poetic tradition in the Netherlands and Flanders. The translations by John Irons and Paul Vincent are the best – readers who know Dutch can judge for themselves in this generous bilingual anthology.Jane Fenoulhet, Professor of Dutch Studies at UCL

‘Enjoy Franssen extrapolating at length when you buy the book, for it is an important book to purchase and read, essential for students of Dutch literature or those interested in translation, and a welcome publication for bi-lingual readers.’ – Anthony Costello on his blog and on Sabotage Reviews

‘The anthology permits a great many reading styles, from purely English reading to more profound, scholarly readings of the poetry.’

‘This anthology goes a long way to fill the lacuna of anglocentric misunderstanding regarding the Low Lands as a largely uneventful place – this anthology proves that is simply not the case, and many of these poets have been closely guarded secrets in English translation for many years. Hopefully not for much longer.’ – Richie McCaffery in Glasgow Review of Books

‘They commendably have included a good number of female poets as well as a chronological schema with summaries of the (numbered) poems themes from each era. This helpful device combined with links to further information references online and in print allows the reader to move around the anthology easily and to pick up on both micro and broader themes.’ – David Caddy on Tears in the Fence 

‘Each English version faces its Dutch original and, given the paucity of such material, this volume will surely be around for many years

One of the many pleasures of this collection is to note the frequent parallels with our own poetic tradition, but to see them refracted through a different lens.

This is a volume which can be enthusiastically recommended.’ – David Cooke on London Grip

Comments from the Judges of the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize:

This treasury of Dutch and Flemish poems (parallel texts of originals and translations) brings together single works of poets ranging from the 11th century to the 21st. It is a rich anthology, based on the two translators’ personal preferences, but also managing to represent something like a canon of important works judged by criteria clearly explained in the translators’ preface.  The judges are commending not only the quality of the translations but the selection itself of poets and poems, and the composition of a whole that is even more than the sum of its parts. There is to our knowledge no comparably wide-ranging collection available to English readers, and although inevitably some omissions will be felt, many of the most influential poets are indeed here, powerfully introduced in these new English versions. We believe that the book will be a uniquely valuable source for teachers and students, but we are impressed above all by the inventiveness, the variety, and often the sheer beauty of these English works, through which the Dutch poetic voices speak and sing to us.

‘100 Dutch-Language Poems is een boeiende bloemlezing, die hopelijk aanzet tot vertalingen van afzonderlijke bundels. De Nederlandstalige poëzie is het waard.’ – Hans Puper in Meander