Anna Enquist
Anna Enquist
Anna Enquist is the pseudonym of Dutch writer Christa Widlund-Broer. She is a psychoanalyst and a pianist. In 1988, Enquist published her first poems in Maatstaaf magazine. Three years later her debut collection Soldatenliederen (The Songs of Soldiers) was published by De Arbeiderspers. Since then Enquist has published a further 6 collections of poetry: Jachtscènes (Hunting Scenes; 1992), Een nieuw afscheid (A New Goodbye; 1994), De tweede helft (The Second Half; 2000), Hier was vuur (Here Was Fire; 2002), De tussentijd (The Interval; 2004) and Nieuws van nergens (News from Nowhere; 2010).
Enquist cemented her status as a writer with her first novel, Het meesterstuk (The Masterpiece; 1994). In 2002 Enquist wrote De ijsdragers (The Ice Carriers), which received wide circulation as part of the annual Dutch Book Week, where as per tradition it was given away for free with all book purchases in the Netherlands. Last year saw the release of Enquist’s most recent novel, De verdovers (The Stunners). All of Enquist's poems to date have been collected in Gedichten 1991-2012.
The release of Enquist’s new poetry collection Een kooi van klank (A Cage of Sound) marked the start of the 2013 Week of Poetry, and was the first Poëziegeschenk. In the same style as Book Week, readers who bought poetry in the Netherlands during the Week of Poetry also received Anna Enquist’s collection as a gift. All of the poems in Een kooi van klank also appear on this website, accompanied by English translations and readings by Enquist herself.
On 5 February 2014, Enquist was named Amsterdam’s poet laureate.
Selected Bibliography
Poetry
Soldatenliederen: Gedichten, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 1991
Jachtscènes: gedichten, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 1992
Een nieuw afscheid: gedichten, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 1994
Kerstziekte, Stichting de Witte Mier, Apeldoorn,1994
Voel je de wind?, Rap, Amsterdam, 1995
Klaarlichte dag: gedichten, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 1996
De gedichten, 1991-2000, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2000
De tweede helft: gedichten, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2000
Hier was vuur: gedichten over moeders en kinderen, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2002
De tussentijd: gedichten, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2004
Alle gedichten, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2005
Kerstmis in februari: de vroege gedichten, Single Pockets, Amsterdam, 2007
Drie gedichten, Uitgeverij 69, Hilversum, 2007
Nieuws van nergens, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2010
De mooiste gedichten: een keuze uit eigen werk, Marteen Mutinga, Amsterdam, 2012
Brieflezende vrouw, Uitgeverij 69, Hilversum, 2012
Gedichten 1991-2012, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2013
Hoor de stad, Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam, 2015
Links
Anna Enquist on the website of the Dutch Royal Library
Anna Enquist on Wikipedia (in Dutch)