Article
Nominations for the 2014 VSB Poetry Prize
November 18, 2013
Jaja de oerknal [Yeah-yeah the Big Bang] – Maria Barnas (De Arbeiderspers, 2013)
De zon in de pan [The sun in the pan] – F. van Dixhoorn (De Bezige Bij, 2012)
Bewegend doel [Moving target] – Micha Hamel (Atlas-Contact, 2013)
ook daar valt het licht [there too falls the light] – Miriam Van hee (De Bezige Bij, 2013)
ritmisch zonder string [rhythmic without a string] – Antoine de Kom (Querido, 2013)
The jury concluded that as far as poetry is concerned, no drastic cutbacks have been made: with 115 entries the submission level was staggeringly high. Similarly, it was evident that little expense had been spared on layout. The jury received many beautifully presented collections. The jury members were, however, critical about the predominant preference for things nostalgic. Poets are seemingly preoccupied with the desire to arouse feelings of melancholy. This therefore heightened the jury’s appreciation of the collections that did reflect engagement; that explored the world, and of poets who radically connect with the language, who have the courage to allow their work to ripen, to transcend individuality.
The VSB Poetry Prize on Tour
In conjunction with the 2014 VSB Poetry Prize, all the nominated poets will be given the opportunity to present their collections to the general public at various venues up and down the country between 17th and 26th January. Further information on this tour can be found on the following site: www.vsbpoezieprijs.nl.
The Poetry Week / 30 January – 5 February 2014
Since 2013, different well-known poetry events such as Poetry Day, the VSB Poetry Prize, the periodical announcing of the Poet Laureate and the Turing Poetry Competition have come together in the Poetry Week. By joining forces in this way, the organizers hope to stimulate more widespread interest in poetry. Poetry Week is a Dutch-Flemish collaboration between Poetry International, the Poetry Centre, the Flemish Reading Foundations, the Dutch Reading Foundation, the Wintertuin Festival, the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Poetry Club, the CPNB and Boek.be Association (for the promotion of the Dutch book). It is also supported by the VSB Fund, the Turing Foundation and the Nederlandse Taalunie (the Dutch Language Union).
The poetry collections that have been nominated for the 2014 VSB Poetry Prize are those by Maria Barnas, F. van Dixhoorn, Micha Hamel, Miriam Van hee and Antoine de Kom. The Jury Chairman, Ahmed Aboutaleb, recently announced the contenders in the VPRO radio programme De Avonden. The VSB Poetry Prize is the leading annual award for poetry written in the Dutch language. The person who has produced the best collection of poetry in the previous twelve months receives a prize of € 25,000 together with glass trophy created by Maria Roosen. The VSB Poetry Prize will be presented on 29 January, thus making it the first highlight of the 2014 national Poetry Week.
The poets were nominated for the following collections: Jaja de oerknal [Yeah-yeah the Big Bang] – Maria Barnas (De Arbeiderspers, 2013)
De zon in de pan [The sun in the pan] – F. van Dixhoorn (De Bezige Bij, 2012)
Bewegend doel [Moving target] – Micha Hamel (Atlas-Contact, 2013)
ook daar valt het licht [there too falls the light] – Miriam Van hee (De Bezige Bij, 2013)
ritmisch zonder string [rhythmic without a string] – Antoine de Kom (Querido, 2013)
The jury concluded that as far as poetry is concerned, no drastic cutbacks have been made: with 115 entries the submission level was staggeringly high. Similarly, it was evident that little expense had been spared on layout. The jury received many beautifully presented collections. The jury members were, however, critical about the predominant preference for things nostalgic. Poets are seemingly preoccupied with the desire to arouse feelings of melancholy. This therefore heightened the jury’s appreciation of the collections that did reflect engagement; that explored the world, and of poets who radically connect with the language, who have the courage to allow their work to ripen, to transcend individuality.
The VSB Poetry Prize on Tour
In conjunction with the 2014 VSB Poetry Prize, all the nominated poets will be given the opportunity to present their collections to the general public at various venues up and down the country between 17th and 26th January. Further information on this tour can be found on the following site: www.vsbpoezieprijs.nl.
The Poetry Week / 30 January – 5 February 2014
Since 2013, different well-known poetry events such as Poetry Day, the VSB Poetry Prize, the periodical announcing of the Poet Laureate and the Turing Poetry Competition have come together in the Poetry Week. By joining forces in this way, the organizers hope to stimulate more widespread interest in poetry. Poetry Week is a Dutch-Flemish collaboration between Poetry International, the Poetry Centre, the Flemish Reading Foundations, the Dutch Reading Foundation, the Wintertuin Festival, the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Poetry Club, the CPNB and Boek.be Association (for the promotion of the Dutch book). It is also supported by the VSB Fund, the Turing Foundation and the Nederlandse Taalunie (the Dutch Language Union).
© Poetry International
Translator: Diane Butterman
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