“Vragen naar het begin by Rozalie Hirs is my favorite poetry collection of the year. It demonstrates that poetry can engage with even the most abstract subjects — reality, language, and the relationship between the two — in a way that is genuinely beautiful. Here, the beauty of art is combined with that of mathematics, much as Wittgenstein brought the two together in philosophy.” — Marc van Oostendorp, Neerlandistiek, 5 July 2026
“These abstract poems occupy a singular place in contemporary poetry. They might be called meta-poems, since they describe the making of other poems while also referring to themselves. But whatever name we give them, it is rare to encounter poems as intriguing and thought-provoking as those of Rozalie Hirs.” — Hettie Marzak, Literair Nederland, 15 September 2026
“Rozalie Hirs is a poet who brings everything she has to her work: her intellect, her feel for language, her sense of rhythm, her fascination with clarity of thought, her concern for and love of this world. She has already written a remarkable number of beautiful collections, but with vragen naar het begin, she has, in my view, surpassed herself.” — Marc van Oostendorp, Neerlandistiek, 5 July 2026
“There are few poets who, with such wholehearted commitment, give expression to ‘the space of the whole of life,’ to borrow Lucebert’s words, as Rozalie Hirs does. Whereas Lucebert ‘strives’ to do this ‘in a poetic way,’ Hirs simply does it. In one sense, she does so much like Lucebert, through ‘waters illuminated in simplicity’: her poetry flows, radiating a lightness and clarity like sunlight sparkling on water. At the same time, she is like a driven scientist who is unafraid of complexity, continually examining her subject from every possible angle, even as that subject itself is constantly changing shape.” — Dietske Geerlings, Tzum, 7 August 2026
“To ask about the beginning is at the same time to ask about meaning: where do we come from, and why are we here?” — Dietske Geerlings, Tzum, 7 August 2026
“The same is true of the poems in this remarkable collection, in which Hirs explores the origins, meaning, and purpose of life. Here, too, the experience of reading comes first. Even without knowing the poetic techniques she uses so skilfully, such as rhythm, alliteration, assonance, and carefully placed enjambments, her poems possess a profound philosophical beauty.” — Hettie Marzak, Literair Nederland, 15 September 2026
contents
-> read
-> tethys
-> spelling
-> how not what
-> events
-> flyer
-> notes
poems
tethys
if presence is a mix-up
between being and longing –
then we are the mix-up
that repeats itself
until it reaches self-recognition
a stone glides –
into an ocean
without echo or catch –
in the mirror of another
bearing all the dreams of the world –
plankton enfolds it –
slowly building limestone –
chalk-covered tongue
in the language of time
still living between our ribs
(English translation: Michele Hutchison)
spelling
if the origin was wrong –
neither tragic nor sublime – just wrong –
an overlooked typo –
if our entire existence is therefore based
on this misspelled start –
how do you appear?
if the centre of an old peony
contains a genetic error – how do you vanish
into the DNA that doesn’t die but remains?
how often does a beginning shape itself
into the path that breathes
precisely because it deviates!
what name should you give
to whatever hides within a mistake
actually making everything possible?
then I shall write the book
that forgets itself
so that you may read it
(English translation: Michele Hutchison)
how not what
the structure of simple signs
mirrors the world
which the poem touches –
the name in the poem
is a gateway to another order –
it is no coincidence that the idea takes place there
and we can speak of things –
to contain them – that is another matter –
a poem shows how –
not what – things are
(English translation: Michele Hutchison)
events
*
Sunday 7 June 2026 – 15:00 CET
vragen naar het begin
book launch, interview, reading, signing
with Julius Roelants (bookseller); Piet Gerbrandy (interview);
Tsead Bruinja, Annelie David, Vicky Francken, Piet Gerbrandy, Joep Stapel, Rozalie Hirs (poetry, readings)
Bookshop Roelants
Van Broeckhuysenstraat 34, Nijmegen, Gelderland
*
Wednesday 10 June 2026 – 17:00 CET
vragen naar het begin
book launch, reading, signing, reception
with Thijs Joores (editor);
Joost Baars, Simone Atangana Bekono, Hannah van Binsbergen, Edwin Fagel, Yasmin Namavar, Rozalie Hirs (poetry, readings)
Athenaeum Bookshop
Spui 14, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland
RSVP
*
Friday 12 June 2026 – 11:00 CET
vragen naar het begin
book launch, reading, signing, coffee and cake
with Ike Bekking (bookseller), Geert Buelens (interview), Rozalie Hirs (poetry, readings)
Bilthoven Bookshop
Vinkenlaan 2, Bilthoven, Utrecht
*
Saturday 13 June 2026 – 18:30 CET
vragen naar het begin
book launch, reading, signing
with G.W. Sok / Jos Kleij (host), Rutger Zuydervelt (live electronics), Rozalie Hirs (poetry, readings)
Bookshop Praamstra
Zondvloed Festival, Deventer, Overijssel
*
Saturday 24 October 2026 – 19:30 CET
vragen naar het begin
boekpresentatie, voordracht, signeren
book launch, reading, signing
with Lies Van Gasse, Arno Van Vlierberghe, Tom Van de Voorde, Sandrine Verstraete, Rozalie Hirs (poetry, readings)
Bookshop Paard van Troje
Ghent, Belgium
flyer
Poetry / €22.99 / June 2026
Paperback / 17 × 24 cm / 120 pages / ISBN 9789025321673 / Cover design: Michaël Snitker
notes
Poems in this collection were written on commission and/or for Doorgeef Gedicht, Lira News (no. 70, #6), 2024; Ode to Guido Gezelle, International Poetry Festival, Roeselare, Belgium, 2024; Amsterdam 3hoog achter, a monograph by visual artist Jet Nijkamp accompanying her exhibition at WG Kunst, Amsterdam, 2025; Bombing of Poems, Poetry International, Rotterdam, 2025; Dichter van de week, Zondag Katern, De Volkskrant, Amsterdam, 7 June 2025; the architectural journal Forum, vol. LVIII, no. 10, Architectura et Amicitia, Amsterdam, 2025; De ondergang (eds. Johan Sonnenschein, Jacob Groot), Gorter Organisation, 2026. Poems from this collection have also appeared in Poëziekrant 2025/6 (Poëziecentrum, Ghent, Belgium, 2025) and DW B 2026/1 (Brussels, Belgium, 2026). For more information, see Rozalie Hirs’s bibliography.
With thanks to the Wolkerstuin for a writing residency in the summer of 2025. With special thanks to Literaturhaus Wien for the Friederike Mayröcker Stipend and the associated residency in the winter of 2025. Warm thanks to Thijs Joores, Jan Kuijper, and Johan Sonnenschein for their editorial contributions.
Integral book design: Michaël Snitker
Editorial support: Vincent Schmitz
Publishers: Patricia de Groot, Josje Kraamer