Landscape with Rowers: Poetry from the Netherlands (Facing Pages) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0691123853 ISBN 13: 9780691123851

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2005

Synopsis

Though the Netherlands has been the site of vigorous literary activity since at least the Beweging van Vijftig (Movement of the Fifties) poets, the status of Dutch as a "minor" language spoken by only twenty-two million people has kept its rich poetry more or less a secret. This volume--featuring J. M. Coetzee's finely wrought English translations side-by-side with the originals--brings the work of six of the most important modern and contemporary Dutch poets to light.


Ranging in style from the rhetorical to the intensely lyrical, the work here includes examples of myth-influenced modernist verse, nature poetry, experimental poetry, poems conscious of themselves within a pan-European avant-garde, and Cees Nooteboom's uncompromising reflections on the powers and limitations of art. In addition to Nooteboom, the poets represented are Gerrit Achterberg, Hugo Claus, Sybren Polet, Hans Faverey, and Rutger Kopland--a who's who of contemporary Dutch poetry.


In Youth, Coetzee's main character claims that "of all nations the Dutch are the dullest, the most antipoetic." With these marvelous translations, the author proves his protagonist wrong.

About this title

About the Author

J. M. Coetzee received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. His books include The Lives of Animals (Princeton), In the Heart of the Country, Waiting for the Barbarians, and the Booker Prize-winning novels Life and Times of Michael K and Disgrace. His most recent book is the novel Elizabeth Costello (2003).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Landscape with Rowers

Poetry from the NetherlandsBy J. M. Coetzee

Princeton University Press

Copyright © 2005 Princeton University Press
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-691-12385-1

Chapter One

Gerrit Achterberg Ballade van de gasfitter 1 Gij hebt de huizen achterom bereikt. Aan de voorgevels, tussen de gordijnen, blijft ge doorlopend uit het niet verschijnen wanneer ik langs kom en naar binnen kijk. Al moet ge in 't voorbijgaan weer verdwijnen, het volgend raam geeft me opnieuw gelijk. Daar wonen ene Jansen en de zijnen, alsof ge mij in deze naam ontwijkt. Maar dat zegt niets. De deuren zijn geduldig; hebben een bel, een brievenbus, een stoep. De appelkoopman lokt u met zijn roep. En valse sleutels zijn er menigvuldig. Ook kan ik binnen komen, doodonschuldig en tot uw dienst, gasfitter van beroep. Ballad of the Gasfitter 1 You must have made your entry from the rear. To each house in the row I turn my glance and in each curtained window catch a glimpse of You, as out of nothing You appear. As I move past You seem to slip away. Yet I am not mistaken, vide the next frame. One Jansen lives there with his family- as if You could escape under that name. The ruse won't work. A door remains a door, each with its steps, its mailbox, and its bell. The apple hawker lures you with his call. A master key is easy to procure. Indeed I can quite freely step inside as (at your service) gasfitter by trade. 2 Dan-op klaarlichte dag bij u aan 't werk, vermomd als man van de gemeente-gaan mijn ogen in het rond en zien u staan. Maar langzaam wordt de zoldering een zerk. De muren zijn van aarde. Wij beslaan. De kamer is verzadigd, naar ik merk. Het kan ook niet. Ik draai de schroeven aan. Zolang ik mij tot deze taak beperk blijven we voor elkaar incognito, terwijl ik bezig ben, gebukt, geknield, of op mijn buik naga wat er aan scheelt. En al maar denken: het is beter zo. Doodzwijgen, door een hamerslag vernield. Doodstilte, die de hamerslagen heelt. 2 At your address, by daylight, on the job disguised in workman's clothing, I wheel round and behold You standing there. Walls turn to ground, ceiling slowly becomes a marble slab. We fade to each other in murky light. The room is saturated, won't hold more. This can't go on. I turn the screws down tight. As long as I devote myself to this chore we can proceed as we are, incognito- as long as I stay busy, bend or kneel or lie flat on my belly trying to feel what's wrong; thinking to myself, It's better so. Dead silence by a hammer blow dispelled. Death hush by which the hammer blows are healed.

(Continues...)

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Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691123853
• ISBN 13: 9780691123851
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96
• Editor: Coetzee J. M.