Artikel
About Nachoem M. Wijnberg
29 mei 2009
In his most recent collection Het leven van (The life of), Wijnberg probably most seems to be seeking out this boundary between prose and poetry. The poems consist of short narratives in which the conflicting and absurd nature of life finds expression. The poems are populated by all sorts of figures, from actors to doctors and grandfathers. They are parables, without any clear moral, but in which a thorough attempt is made to look for rules that grasp existence, and for ways in which to live.
In the at times extremely witty poem ‘Verslag van mijn onderzoek’ (Research report), the curious tale of a man who speaks to doctors who have won the lottery, the main character comes to the conclusion: ‘The most content are those that also give away some money each year, to a hospital in the neighbourhood, for example, to buy a new bed.’
No matter how much an ethical guideline might seem to emerge at this point, it has disappeared once more at the end of the poem with the doomed longing of the I-figure to be included in the doctor’s guild. That brings another characteristic of Wijnberg’s poetry to the surface: the longing of the isolated individual for contact and a sense of security.
Whoever is curious for more Wijnberg can, as well as going to a bookshop, visit the special website www.uitgeverijcontact.nl/nachoemwijnberg, where poems can be found from his collection Liedjes (Songs, 2006) as well as sound recordings and an interview with the poet. [Nachoem M. Wijnberg is to appear at the 2009 Poetry International Festival. This text has been written for that occasion.]
Nachoem M. Wijnberg (Amsterdam, 1961) has been writing poetry and novels at demonic speed for twenty years now and seems able, in some mysterious way, to combine this with a professional career as an economist. During that time, his poetry has won practically every poetry prize that the Netherlands can boast, which means it is a safe bet to assume that Wijnberg is one of the most important Dutch poets of the present day.
Critics have reproached Wijnberg in the past for the complexity of his poetry. That complexity, to the extent that it exists, comes from the style of argumentation, the sometimes obscure links between lines and stanzas, and the references to other literature and to historical figures. His language, though, is crystal-clear and is often more reminiscent of prose than of poetry – and that is precisely where the accessibility of his work lies.In his most recent collection Het leven van (The life of), Wijnberg probably most seems to be seeking out this boundary between prose and poetry. The poems consist of short narratives in which the conflicting and absurd nature of life finds expression. The poems are populated by all sorts of figures, from actors to doctors and grandfathers. They are parables, without any clear moral, but in which a thorough attempt is made to look for rules that grasp existence, and for ways in which to live.
In the at times extremely witty poem ‘Verslag van mijn onderzoek’ (Research report), the curious tale of a man who speaks to doctors who have won the lottery, the main character comes to the conclusion: ‘The most content are those that also give away some money each year, to a hospital in the neighbourhood, for example, to buy a new bed.’
No matter how much an ethical guideline might seem to emerge at this point, it has disappeared once more at the end of the poem with the doomed longing of the I-figure to be included in the doctor’s guild. That brings another characteristic of Wijnberg’s poetry to the surface: the longing of the isolated individual for contact and a sense of security.
Whoever is curious for more Wijnberg can, as well as going to a bookshop, visit the special website www.uitgeverijcontact.nl/nachoemwijnberg, where poems can be found from his collection Liedjes (Songs, 2006) as well as sound recordings and an interview with the poet. [Nachoem M. Wijnberg is to appear at the 2009 Poetry International Festival. This text has been written for that occasion.]
© Jan-Willem Anker
Vertaler: John Irons
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