Once in a while, editor-in-chief Luc Devoldere dives into our archives and pulls out a story that is worth rereading. Consider it left luggage, that reveals a hidden gem. This week, he reads the verses of a great minor poet, J.C. Bloem.

This is a beautiful article by the legendary professor A.L. Sótemann about J.C. Bloem (1887-1966), one of the greatest classical poets of the twentieth century in the Netherlands.

Is this enough, a handful of poems, / to justify an existence, / wasted bit by bit in poorfully fulfilling pointless duties / for an all too meagre living?

This poet wrote nothing new, but he has more than anyone else expressed desire, not being satisfied and the absence of desire infallibly.

Above all, read the anthology of some translated poems of the man who succeeded in nothing, but left behind some ten poems in Dutch that will not be forgotten as long as that language exists.

Tolle et lege.

Read HERE the entire article that was previously published in the 2002 yearbook The Low Countries № 10.