Poëzie aan de Brink – Kortweg 3
It’s poetry week in The Netherlands, with, in the village of Laren, poetry festival Poëzie aan de Brink. The poetry bundle ‘doosje tussentijd’ (little box of meantime) came out, the third poetry book in the series ‘Kortweg’ (In short), edited and put together by Jos van Hest and Gerard Beentjes.
This time poets worked on the theme ‘identity’ or ‘who is I’. I wrote with (my mothers) dementia in mind. Amongst the other contributors: Tsead Bruinja, Nafiss Nia, Willem van Toorn, Ineke Holzhaus, Victor Vroomkoning, Minke Maat, Mare Groen and Ali Serik.
On Saturday evening, February 2nd, during the Marathon of the Short Poem, poets recited their poems, among them also my friend Mimoun Essahraoui, who recited his two poems* in the original version Tamazight, after which I read the Dutch versions (translated by me).
It was such a warm evening, with beautiful music by Babak-O-Doestan, (Persian for Babak and friends) and poetry by people of all ages (children too) and backgrounds.
The bundle ‘Kortweg 3’ can be ordered for € 5 through poet and organizer Gerard Beentjes.
—–
voor mijn moeder – for my mother
ziel
wie ben je als je
laag voor laag
je maskers kwijtraakt
word je wie
je altijd was
vergeten
—–
soul
who are you when
layer by layer
you loose your masks
will you be
the one you had
forgotten
geheugen
ik graaf
mijn hoofd
mijn
waar het
waar is
waar
—–
memory
I’m digging
my mind
mine
where it
where is
where**
—–
Photos and poems © Maartje Jaquet
Note: the photos are not included in the book.
*Essahraoui‘s poems are also featured in his recently published bilingual (Tamazight – Dutch) bundle, and can be ordered through email for €10, postage not included.
** The Dutch word ‘waar’ has different meanings, for which in English there are different words, in this case ‘where’ and ‘true’. Impossible to translate. I chose for the visual solution, thinking that the feeling of insecurity and confusion still comes through.
Maartje Jaquet 