karel van de woestijne, sint-martens-latem, belgium

On 6 June 2021 at 11:00 CET the award ceremony for the Jury Prize and the Public Choice Award of the three-yearly Karel van de Woestijne Poetry Prize (2017-2020) takes place in the gardens of the townhall, Sint-Martens-Latem, Ghent, Belgium. During the event all nominees read their poetry. The address is Townhall, Dorp 1, 9830 Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium. Welcome!

The nominees Anneke Brassinga, Rozalie Hirs, Jan Lauwereyns, Hester Knibbe en Peter Verhelst were announced on 1 August 2020. The award ceremony had to be postponed due to the pandemic. The below poem was selected from Hirs’ nominated poetry book verdere bijzonderheden (further particulars; Amsterdam; Uitgeverij Querido, 2017).

from rose to some glassware

who drinks from you, flute glass, your colourless cup on a winged aquamarine stem
bent in a figure of eight, with wings on either side, like an angel, bird,
on a disc-shaped foot with a turned-up edge, pontil mark – rules between heaven
and earth, afterlife, words? who drinks beer from you like water,

cylindrical beaker – aquamarine through and through, with a punt base,
protruding rim – next to a breakfast of herring, bread? who sleeps it off
after your life – blown into a conical goblet on a ribbed stem,
winged and standing on a disc-shaped foot, toothless base

has briefly glowed orange-red? who drinks from you – cylindrical colourless glass,
with your ribbed rounded base – before an earthly or fiery return to dust?
who refrains from drinking – goblet, the slightly raised base on blackberry prunt feet,
your upper part and rim wrapped in aquamarine threads or voluptuously

pouting knobbly relief – to gaze at you? will your shards –
indifferent beaker, stem glass, cup, bowl with a cross or slanting ribs,
club-shaped beaker, Roemer of the cabbage stalk type – in the rain, rubbish
cesspool, underground well – golden-ager, always be translucent?

Date: 2021-06-06
Time: 11:00 CET
Place: Townhall (Gardens), Dorp 1, 9830 Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium