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Esther Jansma

Esther Jansma
Esther Jansma

(Amsterdam, 1958) made her debut in 1988 with the book of poetry Stem onder mijn bed (Voice Underneath My Bed), followed by a new volume every two years. The press was instantly positive, but real recognition followed only eleven years later with the VSB Poetry Prize for Hier is de tijd (Here is the Time). In 2006 she was recipient of the prestigious A. Roland Holst medal for her entire oeuvre and in the same year she received the Jan Campert Prize for Alles is nieuw (Everything is New). Her collected proze and poetry appeared in 2006 entitled Altijd vandaag (Always Today). Striking elements in her work are the musicality and the evocative language. According to her, her poems are strongly determined by her unsafe youth. Her father died when she was six and she remained behind with a heartless mother. The death of her unborn daughter and newly born son have marked her work, respectively Bloem, steen (Flower, Stone; 1990) and Hier is de tijd (1998). In addition to being a poet Ms Jansma is a translator and a professor of dendrochronology.

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  • Foto Audio
    Winternachten 2009 – Winternachten zaterdagavond

    International poetry: The Right Word

    'It only needed to be found,' Esther Jansma writes in her poem 'Everything is new'. In this international poets' programme four poets of stature talked to each other about their quest for words. With Esther Jansma, the Lebanese poet Joumana Haddad, the Turkish/Cypriot Nese Yasin and Laksmi Pamuntjak (Indonesia). Hosted by the poet Tsead Bruinja.