'Mijn dood en ik': An Ode to Remco Campert

Here now    along the long deep water
that I thought that I thought that you always
that you always

_{From Lamento, translation Donald Gardner}

Who does not know the iconic line 'Poetry is an act of affirmation', does not experience that recognition when he reads that 'it thaws on the Overtoom' but that it is already freezing over, or is not moved by the grinding repetitive lines from his 'Lamento'? Remco Campert was one of the greatest and most beloved Dutch poets of the 20th century and a welcome guest, columnist, author and poet wherever he went. Without exception, Campert's poems are somewhat jazzy. He writes in an unapologetic way, disliking embellishment and grandstanding. 'That refined simplicity has been characteristic from the beginning,' said fellow 'Fifties poet' Gerrit Kouwenaar. Campert himself saw poetry as "an old coat that you can find in a forgotten corner, and in which you recognize yourself. Remco Campert meant endless things to Dutch-language poetry. On July 4, 2022, Campert died. With the "My death and I" Poetry International pays a final salute to this unforgettable poet to whom the Poetry International Festival also owes so much.