Poetry week 2024: home

The train in verse

Piet Paaltjens’ poem is the first time someone thought about combining trains and poetry. The writer fell in love with a girl sitting on a passing train. The poem is in the collection 'De trein schrijft liedjes van verlangen'. The poem is called Aan Rika. Piet Paaltjens wonders why she did not fling herself around his neck. Was she afraid of a railway disaster? That would not have bothered him.

'Maar, Rika, wat kon zaalger voor mij zijn,
Dan, onder helsch geratel en gestamp,
Met u verplet te worden door één trein?'

The book 'De trein schrijft liedjes van verlangen' is an anthology featuring a selection of train poems compiled by Henny Vrienten. The collection contains poems about locomotives, coal on the fire, cigarette smoke in smoking compartments, rattling split-flap signs, the pointsman and saying goodbye.
A beautiful poem is 'In de trein' by Willem Wilmink which ends thus:

en 'k had naar China willen reizen zo,
maar moest er helaas uit in Almelo.

_{AI Rika, what she may have looked like this}

The German poets

Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Friedrich Schiller

• Goethe (1749-1832) was born in Frankfurt but lived most of his life in Weimar. The city centre was badly damaged in the war but has been beautifully restored. It is now a Unesco world heritage site. You can visit Goethe's residence with national museum and his Gartenhaus.
• Schiller (1759-1805) was a friend of Goethe. He is known, among other things, for his poem Ode an die Freude, which Beethoven incorporated into his 9th symphony. In Weimar is het Schiller residence is in Wiemar and you can see his statue. Right beside Goethe's statue.

Great Flemish poets

Guido Gezelle and Paul van Ostaijen

• Guido Gezelle (1830-1899) was born on the outskirts of Bruges. Besides being a poet, he was also a priest and known for his poetry about nature. Do you know Het Schrijverke? In Bruges, you can visit the House Gezelle. His mausoleum is one of the most beautiful tombs at the Bruges cemetery.
• Paul van Ostaijen (1896-1928) held not only Dutch but also Belgian nationality from the age of 22. He was born in Antwerp and is buried at Schoonselhof. This beautiful cemetery is just half an hour by bike from Antwerp Central. If you plan to cycle more often in Belgium, get a discounted subscription to Blue-bike, the 'Belgian public transport bike'.

_{Poem by Paul van Ostaijen}

Les Poètes Français, the French poets

Charles Baudelaire and Jacques Prévert

• For a short period, the poet Baudelaire (1821-1867) had a room in Hôtel de Lauzun on the Quai d'Anjou. He wrote part of his most important collection Les Fleurs du Mal there. Baudelaire died of syphilis while still young and is buried at Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris. His friend, the painter Manet painted his funeral, L'enterrement.
• Jacques Prévert (1900-1977) grew up in Paris and for a while lived there at 54 Rue du Château. He wrote the collection Paroles, the best-selling French poetry collection of all time. He later went on to write film scripts and children's books.

_{Manet's L'enterrement}