Poetry around the World
NATIONAL POETRY DAY JANUARY 31ST 2008 IN THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF
WAGENINGEN (NL)
On January 31st. 2008 something special happened in the public library of Wageningen,
The Netherlands: it was an ode, a tribute to the
many languages and many nationalities living in Wageningen. That night we held a
translations-project, called "poetry around the world" (in Dutch: "De wereld rond
gedicht"). It was based on some of my poetry. Five of my short poems were
translated into thirteen languages, primarily by inhabitants of Wageningen who were
native speakers of those languages, and these translations were read aloud by native
speakers as well. Unfortunately the length of the evening only allowed us to perform
the poetry in 13 languages in addition to my own language, Dutch. During the
performance the audience was silent and concentrated in a beautiful way despite
many languages being foreign to most of them. A respect and joy for all languages
was present throughout the evening.
We organized this event on the occasion of National Poetry Day which is held each
year on January 31st, both in The Netherlands and in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking
part of Belgium. It originated in Great Britain, where it is celebrated every year with
passion. Each year the Wageningen Public Library participates in this event and
chooses a theme or a special formula for celebrating it. This year they chose the
translation-project of my poetry, as they wanted to emphasize the "multinationality"
of Wageningen (and because they knew I already had some translations in my
possession). My poems were thus translated into even more languages and together
we created this beautiful happening.
The languages chosen were: Dutch, Russian, English, Frysian (official minority
language of the province of Friesland in the North of The Netherlands), Amhar
(Ethiopia), Classical Latin, Spanish, Indonesian, French, Hungarian, Chinese, Arabic,
German and Surinam.
All visitors received a booklet with the complete translations, including text in special
characters like Chinese, Russian, Arabic and the very special writing of the Amhar.
The Dutch originals were also included of course. A poster which could be seen
everywhere in town was also printed on the booklet cover.
To allow for the reading of all fourteen languages in one evening participants were
invited to read one translated text, "Interference" (in Dutch: "Storing"), and asked to
read two more of the translated poems of their liking. "Interference" is about a kind
of embarrassing interference in my head, which suddenly makes me remember all of
the mistakes and problems in my life at once (not pleasant but very human!).
Each participant was also invited to recite one poem from their original culture. Some
participants chose to sing a song in their language. This was a surprise and a "gift for
the evening" as our ladyspeaker Jantien Dubbeldam called it.
At the end of the evening the spectacular final chord was the reading aloud of
"Interference" by all participants at the same time!
The whole event was held in an attractive décor: the public library has a nice stage,
which was enhanced by an exhibition on the "art of printing" by the artist Ben Joosten
- with fonts and words as a special theme.
To complement the evening, the choir "t Feest" (in Dutch: "The Party") sang songs
from different cultures, conducted by Anneke Rot. Anneke - my partner - and I also
played music together, and I did an improvisation on bass-recorder. The performance
was led by Jantien Dubbeldam in Dutch and in English. It truly was a memorable
event!
Introduction translated by Laurens van der Zee with the collaboration of Stephanie Joy Melles and Trevor
Middel.
1 Ik droomde dat het sneeuwde
I DREAMT THAT IT SNOWED
I dreamt that it snowed and it snowed.
I dreamt that you came back, you kissed me.
Tears filtered the whiteness, that morning.
2 Storing
INTERFERENCE
For a second, something in me took over. I cried out, not loudly, but the silence surrounding
me made it sound like a shot. I exclaimed in shame and distress for all the mistakes I'd
made.
I wasn't reviewing them one by one, a combination exists whose code I don't know, and I
know just as little about the mechanism making it open. I excused myself even though no
one was there, stood stock still for a second, then went on with what I'd been doing.
As far as I'm concerned, the matter is closed. I'll calmly await the next attacks that will surely
come. I know the pain and I know it will pass off. I hope that if I'm in company, I won't be
audible.
Back to business now.
3 Ik voelde me zo alleen in de stad
I WAS SO ALONE IN THE CITY
I was so alone in the city,
So unnecessary and so lost.
I bought a dog's leash.
4 Het toppunt van projectie
THE PINNACLE
But the pinnacle of projection
was the man who wrote
I want to tell you this, when I last
opened the cookie jar,
there was only one cookie left,
it was leaning against the wall
as if it wanted to say
honest
I may look frightened
but I'm not.
5 De eenzame wolf
THE LONELY WOLF
I play the lonely wolf,
I'm a loner today and tomorrow.
Softly I howl in the dark at your window.
My noble form
touches the light from the lantern. Is that the hero?
Your hero passed by, my bottomless eye says later.
This is how I wring out warmth.