Poetry International Archives EXTRA - January 25, 2021 | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dear readers, It’s Poetry Week in Flanders and the Netherlands – an annual, week long celebration of poetry. So every day, Poetry International’s 'Poetry on Impact' will present online readings and Q&A’s with intriguing poets. Immediately after the Eight O’Clock News, they will perform their poems on matters of as great importance as those in the hot headlines. This Saturday the 30th of January, British and Ugandan poet and performer Vanessa Kisuule will be our very special international guest, and translator Michele Hutchison our very special host for the occasion. | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Vanessa Kisuule served as the City Poet of Bristol when, in reaction to the murder of George Floyd, #BlackLivesMatter protests led to the tearing down of statues of prominent historical figures, including that of 17th century Bristol merchant, slave trader and tory politician Edward Colston, whose statue was dumped into the Bristol harbor. Kisuule wrote her poem ‘Hollow’ about the event, and it instantly went viral. 'Jjajja', 'Brick Me' and 'Take Up Space' are other poems that characterize Kisuule's work. | |
|
|
|
| "... Countless times I passed that plinth, Its heavy threat of metal and marble. But as you landed, a piece of you fell off, broke away, And inside, nothing but air. This whole time, you were hollow." | | |
|
|
|
| Vanessa Kisuule is the winner of many slam competitions including Bang Said The Gun and the Hammer and Tongue National Slam. Her second collection of poetry, 'A Recipe For Sorcery', can be read as “a recipe book for personhood that changes with the whim of the seasons and the political climate. ... a cathartic explosion, an unspooling of long-harboured resentment and a delving into ugly truths, …a redefinition of what it is to be magical and otherworldly”. Kisuule has performed her poetry at renowned venues, including The Royal Albert Hall and festivals such as Glastonbury. Her poems have been featured in The Guardian, the Huffington Post, on the BBC Woman’s Radio Hour and The Guilty Feminist Podcast. We are very much looking forward to meet Vanessa Kisuule on our series 'Poetry on Impact', live through Zoom on 30th of January, 20:30 hours (Amsterdam Time). Be welcome and join us, find more info and your tickets on www.poetry.nl. | |
|
|
|
|
| POETRY ON IMPACT x EXPLORE DUTCH POETRY | |
|
|
| The other six episodes of Poetry on Impact will focus on Dutch or Flemmish poets and will be Dutch spoken. However you can discover our guest's profiles and enjoy some of their poems on our Archives website. We are happy to introduce you to Tsead Bruinja, who has just stepped down from his role as Poet Laureate of the Netherlands, Maud Vanhauwaert and Rodaan Al Galidi, the writers of this year's Poetry Week gift collection, poet of the rural region of East-Flanders Paul Demets, Alfred Schaffer, who has been awarded the P.C. Hooft Prize for Poetry 2021, Poet of Frisia Nyk de Vries and the ultimate ambassador for Dutch poetry Ellen Deckwitz. | | | |
|
|
|
|
| MEET OUR NEW POET LAUREATE LIEKE MARSMAN | |
|
|
| Lieke Marsman is the new Poet Laureate of the Netherlands. For the next two years she will respond to and comment on events of national and international importance with her poems. According to the Appointment Committee Lieke Marsman “recharges the words that are being used to describe the actual matters at hand, which makes her voice an unwavering and movingly genuine one. She pairs erudition to humor and simplicity to depth." Learn more about Lieke Marsman on Poetry International Archives and enjoy the videopoems she performed at the 50th Poetry International Festival in 2019. | | | |
|
|
|
|
| WE WERE ALL DELIGHTED AMANDA GORMAN | |
|
|
| The whole wide world must have been impressed by the way the United States of America’s National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman captured the moment in history performing her poem “The Hill We Climb” at president Joe Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’s inauguration last week. So were we! This TED-Ed Student Talk by Gorman dating back from November 2018 has inspired us even more: "Not everyone is going to be a great poet, but everyone can be!” | | | |
|
|
|
|
| Feel free to forward this newsletter within your network or share an invitation to subscribe | |
|
|
|
|
|