For Versopolis I wrote an English article on ‘Poetry Off the Page in the Netherlands and Flanders’. In which non-book forms does poetry exist in the Low Countries? And how do people use these poetry forms in their everyday lives? My case study is a poem by M. Vasalis and the conclusion of the article goes:

‘My research shows that “poetry matters” in the Netherlands and Flanders, in both senses of the word. On the one hand, poetry matters as poems are used extensively and meaning is constantly derived from poetry. On the other hand, the material form of poetry is important, as the material carrier of poetry is related to the users, the uses and thus also the meanings of poetry.’

The article can be read online here.

The poem “Eb” (“Low Tide”) by M. Vasalis on a poster produced by the Plint Foundation in 1989, with an illustration by John Cees Smit.