The Tale Won't Be Ended. The Poetry of J.H. Leopold

Jan Hendrik Leopold (1865-1925) has the reputation of being a difficult, not to say obscure poet; which is why for almost a century, despite the eminent position accorded him in the canon of Dutch literature at a time when that canon was compulsory fare in Dutch secondary schools, Leopold was mentioned only in passing or not at all. A number of cardinal points in his poetry: the themes of loneliness and seclusion, and associated with these the theme of love, the strongly musical nature of his poetry, the stressing of the private secluded space of ‘the tale, fearful and splendid', and the ‘a thousand times she'll change her mind: the tale won't be ended' that characterises Leopold's poetry on many different levels. (with a translated long poem: 'Birthday Party')