They crawled in waves from their tunnels in the earthĪs they circled around. It was evening when the ants sprouted wings. However, if one homes in on a brief untitled poem by Eva Gerlach, the first poet featured here, one does get a clear sense of focus and objectivity, and of stringent formal control, which concludes on a note of shocking matter-of-factness:
Obviously, in a review of two substantial anthologies there is little scope to do more than glance at the work of a small number of poets. At the very least, his assertion is a useful starting point from which to evaluate the ten poets gathered here, most of whom are represented by three to four poems, although Hans R. Finally, there is a somewhat idiosyncratic introduction in which the editor might have spent a little more time discussing the poets translated rather than others who aren’t.Įvans does, however, attempt to define ‘the essence of Dutchness’ and comes to the conclusion that it is ‘freedom within a box, within a strictly delineated framework.’ In doing so, he evokes, also, the brightly coloured geometry that one associates with the Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan. One interesting feature for those who are able to tackle the Dutch text is an appendix of line by line literal versions, followed by ‘Windows’, a brief essay in which Evans discusses various approaches to the art of translation. Evans, who has translated every poem himself. Grand Larcenies, Translations and Imitations of Ten Dutch Poets, is published by Carcanet Press and edited by P.C. It is timely, then, that two excellent new anthologies, both bilingual, have been published within a couple of months of each other.
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Where Dutch is concerned, this is a pity because it is relatively easy for English speakers to learn how to read it, especially if they have some basic grasp of German. Moreover, the overwhelming predominance of English around the globe means that its speakers have little incentive to dabble in a ‘minority’ language. A small number of Dutch poets have, of course, been translated into English, in both monolingual and bilingual texts, but nothing like to the same extent as work from other languages. Martinus Nijhoff, a poet much admired by the Russian exile and Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky, once lamented that his international profile would probably have been more significant if he had written in English. Occupied by the Nazis in WWII, it should not, however, be forgotten that the Dutch, also, have had their share of trauma, but somehow this does not seem to have shaped their poetry. Maybe it is a dearth of Nobel laureates or something about Dutch stability and economic success that does not appeal to the romantic sensibility, which tends to seek its heroes in those who, like Lorca, Akhmatova or Ritsos, can be seen to have suffered for their art. This is certainly not the case for Hispanic, Russian, Greek or Italian poets.
ISBN: 978-1907320491Īlthough, worldwide, Dutch is the third most widely spoken Germanic language with some twenty million speakers in nearby Holland and Belgium, it is unlikely that most readers of poetry in the UK could name so much as one Dutch poet. ISBN: 1-854113135ġ00 Dutch-Language Poems, From the Medieval Period to the Present Day, selected and translated by Paul Vincent and John Irons. In a Different Light, Fourteen Contemporarary Dutch-language Poets, edited by Rob Schouten and Robert Mnhinnick. Rinkeldekinkel, an anthology of Dutch Poetry, edited by Rob Schouten. Grand Larcenies, Translations and Imitations of Ten Dutch Poets, edited and translated by P.C.
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