This Little Bag poem by Jane Austen

This little bag

This little bag I hope will prove
To be not vainly made–
For, if you should a needle want
It will afford you aid.
And as we are about to part
T’will serve another end,
For when you look upon the Bag
You’ll recollect your friend

Jane Austen
(1775 – 1817)
This little bag
Poem

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Rachel Long: My Darling from the Lions

Rachel Long’s much-anticipated debut collection of poems, My Darling from the Lions, explores shame, love and healing through her intimate poetic voice.

Shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize / the Costa Poetry Award / the Forward Prize for Best First Collection / the Jhalak Prize

British poet Rachel Long’s poems are so razor-sharp and witty that they stand out from the first line. Long is also founder of the Octavia Collective for Womxn of Colour (a ‘community-minded’ collective where women of color can safely (learn to) write poetry, a response to the lack of inclusivity within literature and the academy).

She debuted two years ago with the impressive collection My darling from the lions. This collection was nominated for five different poetry awards and was named one of the 100 must-read books of 2021 by TIME.

There is a vibrancy to her narrative poems that is extraordinary to find in a text; with dizzying precision, Long describes humorous, sensual and surreal scenes.

Sometimes, as a reader, you recognize yourself in the candid, uncomfortable moments Long shares; sometimes, on the contrary, the scenes are alienating. However, Long has a talent for making that alienation come across naturally nonetheless.

The collection can be described as a coming-of-age story, in which the speaker survives a tumultuous childhood and adolescence only to find himself in the confusing maze called adulthood.

Rachel Long creates relatable, human work that is sure to leave an impression that is sure to leave an impression long after she has once again traded the Rotterdam stage of Poetry International for her native London.

Long reveals herself as a razor-sharp and original voice on the issues of sexual politics and cultural inheritance that polarize our current moment. But it’s her refreshing commitment to the power of the individual poem that will leave the reader turning each page in eager anticipation: here is an immediate, wide-awake poetry that entertains royally, without sacrificing a note of its urgency or remarkable skill.

OPEN
This morning she told me
I sleep with my mouth open
and my hands in my hair.
I say, What, Mum, like screaming?
She says, No, baby, like abandon.

Rachel Long is a poet and the founder of Octavia Poetry Collective for Women of Colour, which is housed at Southbank Centre in London. My Darling from the Lions, first published by Picador in 2020, is her debut collection. She was born in London, and resides there today.

My Darling from the Lions:
Poems
by Rachel Long (Author)
Publisher: ‎Tin House Books
Publication date: ‎September 21, 2021
Language: ‎English
Print length: ‎88 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1951142713
ISBN-13: ‎978-1951142711
Paperback
$14.98

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Masaoka Shiki: Haiku

Haiku

After killing
a spider, how lonely I feel
in the cold of night!

Masaoka Shiki
(1867-1902)
Haiku

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55th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam

From 12 to 15 June 2025, be inspired by Poet Laureates from all over the world! Poetry International presents the very first Poetry Summit, curated in collaboration with Poet of the Netherlands Babs Gons.

This anniversary edition of the festival brings together a line-up of only the most acclaimed voices, awarded with the highest (inter)national distinctions.

As representatives of their country, they will take part in lectures, discussions, workshops, interviews, debates and performances. So be there during this special anniversary edition, where the most influential voices will unite for once to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Poetry International Festival.

During the festival, the Declaration of future poetry generations will also be written and presented: a document on the importance of poetry, intended to secure its future for next generations.

Poets: Warsan Shire (United Kingdom) / Jean D’Amérique (Haiti) / Diana Anphimiadi (Georgia) / Simon Armitage (United Kingdom) / Kwame Dawes (Jamaica) / Maricela Guerrero (Mexico) / Alysia Nicole Harris (USA) / Patricia Jabbeh Wesley (Liberia) / Tom Lanoye (Belgium) / Luljeta Lleshanaku (Albania) / Momtaza Mehri (United Kingdom) / Nadia Mifsud (Malta) / Ramsey Nasr (Netherlands) / Derek Otte (Netherlands) / Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer (Netherlands) / Esther Phillips (Barbados) / Astrid Roemer (Netherlands) / Ian Sanborn (USA) / Chris Tse (New Zealand) / Lyuba Yakimchuk (Ukraine)

More information on:
♦ Website 55th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam

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Gertrud Kolmar: Soldatenmädchen

Soldatenmädchen

Und wenn du Männer zwingen willst,
So mußt du rasch dich rüsten
Und, eh’ im West der Schnee noch schmilzt,
Marschier’n nach Frankreichs Küsten.
Und wenn du Mädchen zwingen willst,
So weck’ nur dein Gelüsten,
Und ruh’ heut’ nacht, daß du es stillst,
An meinen weißen Brüsten.

Und was der Leute Mund drob’ red’t,
Den Spott will ich ertragen;
Wenn dir der Feind nicht widersteht,
Wie sollt’s dein Lieb wohl wagen ?
Ein heißes Herz ist noch kein Fehl,
Ein’ tapfre Seel’ kein Schaden,
Und wenn sich fanden Herz und Seel’,
Wird uns der Himmel gnaden.

Denn so ist dein und mein Geschick:
Dir schuf der Schmied die Waffen;
Den ros’gen Mund, den dunklen Blick,
Die hat mir Gott geschaffen.
Der Schuster hat die Schuh’ gemacht,
Die deinen Weg betraten,
Vom Schneider hab’ ich meine Tracht,
Mein Kindlein vom Soldaten.

Gertrud Kolmar
(1894 – 1943)
Soldatenmädchen

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Neem ruim zei de zee. Gedichten van Sholeh Rezazadeh

In een prachtig parlando, dat schatplichtig is aan de oude Perzische dichters, dicht Sholeh Rezazadeh in Neem ruim zei de zee over de kracht van de natuur en de onmogelijkheid om de ander te kennen.

In haar eerste dichtbundel komen we vertrouwde elementen tegen die ze ook in haar twee lovend ontvangen romans veelvuldig verwerkte: rivieren en zeeën, bomen en bergen, vissen, vogels en vlinders.

Net als in haar romans is de natuur geen achtergrond maar een echt personage, dat ziet en voelt, dat liefheeft en vergeet. De mens zelf is een feilbaar wezen dat wanhopig zoekt naar liefde en verbinding maar zich ook verbaast over het gebrek aan aandacht voor de ander.

Sholeh Rezazadeh (1989) verhuisde in 2015 naar Nederland en begon direct met het leren van de Nederlandse taal. Haar debuutbundel Neem ruim zei de zee kwam in 2024 uit en markeerde niet alleen haar poëtische entree in Nederland maar ook het begin van haar bredere missie: meer poëzie in Nederland. Rezazadeh weet dat poëzie verbindende kracht heeft, iets wat zij tijdens haar leven in Iran heeft ervaren. Poëzie is daar in de spreektaal vervlochten zoals spreekwoorden in het Nederlands.

in welke taal zal ik je woorden geven
zodat we elkaar opnieuw kunnen vinden
in welke blik, welke stilte
gaan we elkaar weer verstaan?

in welke regel moet ik het stotteren van de zon uitleggen
laag na laag, wolk na wolk
als we van elkaar slechts schaduwen herkennen

in welke taal kan ik je omarmen
zodat je blijft

( . . . )

Uit: boekenweekgedicht (cpnb 2025)

Titel: Neem ruim zei de zee.
Gedichten
Auteur: Sholeh Rezazadeh
Taal: Nederlands
ISBN 9789026371554
Genre: Poëzie
Bindwijze: Gebonden
Verschenen: 17-03-2025
72 pagina’s
5e Druk
Uitgever Ambo|Anthos
20,99 euro

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Adah Menken: Karazah To Karl

Karazah To Karl

Come back to me! my life is young,
My soul is scarcely on her way,
And all the starry songs she’s sung,
Are prelude to a grander lay.
Come back to me!

Let this song-born soul receive thee,
Glowing its fondest truth to prove;
Why so early did’st thou leave me,
Are our heaven-grand life of love?
Come back to me!

My burning lips shall set their seal
On our betrothal bond to-night,
While whispering murmurs will reveal
How souls can love in God’s own light.
Come back to me!

Come back to me! The stars will be
Silent witnesses of our bliss,
And all the past shall seem to thee
But a sweet dream to herald this!
Come back to me!

Adah Isaacs Menken
(1835 – 1868)
Karazah To Karl

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The Emperor of Gladness, a novel by Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive

One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river.

The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker.

Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink.

Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul.

Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance.

Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and Time Is a Mother, as well as the novels On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous and The Emperor of Gladness. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the American Book Award, he used to work as a fast-food server, which inspired The Emperor of Gladness. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he currently splits his time between Northampton, Massachusetts, and New York City.

The Emperor of Gladness
A Novel
By Ocean Vuong
Category: Literary Fiction
Publisher: ‎Penguin Press
May 13, 2025
Language: ‎English
416 pages
ISBN-10:059383187X
ISBN-13:978-0593831878
Hardcover
$30.00

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Georg Trakl: Sonja

Sonja

Abend kehrt in alten Garten;
Sonjas Leben, blaue Stille.
Wilder Vögel Wanderfahrten;
Kahler Baum in Herbst und Stille.

Sonnenblume, sanftgeneigte
Über Sonjas weißes Leben.
Wunde, rote, niegezeigte
Läßt in dunklen Zimmern leben,

Wo die blauen Glocken läuten;
Sonjas Schritt und sanfte Stille.
Sterbend Tier grüßt im Entgleiten,
Kahler Baum in Herbst und Stille.

Sonne alter Tage leuchtet
Über Sonjas weiße Brauen,
Schnee, der ihre Wangen feuchtet,
Und die Wildnis ihrer Brauen.

Georg Trakl
(1887 – 1914)
Sonja

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Bert Bevers: Achtergrondgeluk

Achtergrondgeluk

Hij kan zich niet herinneren wanneer precies hij
voor het eerst hoorde dat je ook iets anders kon

geloven. Ongeveer toen die weder te keren
weemoed in in generfd leder gebonden albums

werd geplakt. Iemand vertelde hem toentertijd,
lang geleden, ook dat hij niet bang mocht zijn.

Bert Bevers

Achtergrondgeluk
Ongepubliceerd

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To See Yourself as You Vanish, poems by Andrea Werblin Reid

Fierce, frank, witty poetry about cancer diagnosis, treatment, remission, and end-of-life

Written in the last three years of her life, Andrea Werblin Reid‘s To See Yourself As You Vanish is a collection of unsparingly brave and insightful poems about her experience with ovarian cancer. Frank, fierce, and witty, her work does not hide behind cliches, platitudes, or tropes, but addresses the hopes, frustrations, fears, and longings that would be easy to leave unspoken.

She offers friendship and understanding to those who share her experiences and powerful insights for caregivers and those who work in oncology, hospice, research, and psychology. Of these poems, Reid herself said: “I have struggled with the implications of war metaphors and the perspectives they perpetuate since receiving my own cancer diagnosis.

People living with cancer and other chronic illnesses are not taking up arms, they are living as long and as humanely as possible: not to win or lose, simply to live.” The scenes in these poems are rich and spare, magical and sane, awful and special: “one bird comes to the end of his branch looking like a clever moustache. /one bird comes to the end of his song like an ordinary bird.”

ANDREA WERBLIN REID (1965–2022) is the author of Lullaby for One Fist (Wesleyan, 2001) and Sunday with the Sound Turned Off (Lost Horse, 2014). Her poem “Language is the Virus” was named a finalist for the prestigious Perkoff Prize from the Missouri Review and her work has been published in the LA Review of Books, Virginia Quarterly Review, Massachusetts Review, Brooklyn Rail, Pank, Smartish Pace, and more.

THE COLOR OF WAITING

is hypnotic pink, under whose spell
you’ve been living for years
like a small fossilized creature.
or magenta, a bruise
that evolves,
(. . .)
then sharp as the serrated smiles
doctors have been honing for years.
waiting masquerades as the inflatable idea
of hope, waterproofed for safety, maybe,
devoid of vision, punctured that easily

To See Yourself as You Vanish
poetry by
Andrea Werblin Reid
Series: Wesleyan Poetry Series
Sales Date: 09-09-2025 !
88 Pages
Hardcover
ISBN 9780819502070
$26.95