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As travelling is ruled out for the coming time, we’ve all become travellers who have to find their feet in the new situation. Syds Wiersma thought that we do not stand on two feet on the ground anymore, but rather one and a half, and so the new poetry form devell ped: the one and a half leg, or in Frisian, the Oardelskonkje.

If it not were for the corona crisis, Wiersma would be in Ireland to finish writing his poetry volume now. “We’ve all become travellers on one and a half leg” he says. Today, on April 30^th, RIXT has published the explanation and first Oardelskonkjes by Syds Wiersma. You can find it here (in Frisian).

The Oardelskonkje is a crisis variant on the haiku. It has fifteen words, divided in two stanzas. The first stanza has ten words, the second five. Numerically and visually, it is oardel (one and a half) skonk (leg). The form is free for the poet, allthough a chute in between the stanzas works best according to Wiersma. Several Oardelskonkjes can form a thread, just like haikus.

We invite everyone to explore this new form and send in Oardelskonkjes. The editorial board will select Oardelskonkjes for publication on May 15th, which has been proclaimed Day of the Oardelskonkje.

More than 5000 residents of 88 small and large scale care homes in Fryslân have received poetry cards today.

It is an act of Leeuwarden/Ljouwert UNESCO City of Literature in collaboration with Poetry Pack RIXT, and was set up in light of the difficult situation which affects residents of care homes considerably. Ernst Bruinsma, corporate leader of Ljouwert/Leeuwarden City of Literature:

“With this action we want to provide  comfort and hope in these – especially for the elderly – difficult times.”

RIXT poets Jan Kleefstra, Syds Wiersma, Gerrit de Vries, Froukje Reitsema, Kate Schlingemann, Marije Roorda, Tsjisse Hettema, Martsje de Jong, and poet Baukje Wytsma have written six poems in Frisian, two in Dutch and one poem in Stellingwarfs.

In the framework of the project Frisian in Health Care (Afûk), Douwkje Douma has inventarised the interest of elderly homes in Fryslân. Every organisation showed interest: Kwadrantgroep, Hof en Hiem, Meriant, Patyna, Mienskipssintrum Leppehiem en Noorderbreedte.

The poetry cards are designed by BWH Ontwerpers from Ljouwert/Leeuwarden and are printed by Van der Eems in Easterein. The poems will be published on leeuwardencityofliterature.nl as well as on RIXT.

On the website friesindezorg.frl you can find information (in Dutch) on the importance of language in the well-being of people requiring care.

The Poet of the Month April is Tsjisse Hettema.
You can read the Frisian poems on RIXT.

Geart Tigchelaar is part with the Frisian poem ‘njoggen nachten’ [nine nights] of the volumnious anthology Arbolarium. This is a Columbian anthology of 148 poets from 78 countries over five continents, which explains the subtitle De los cinco continentes.

An anthology of songs: songs that human beings address to the trees: songs of the trees who borrow human beings’ voices. In the nahuatl language, poetry is flowers and songs; in this book, poetry is trees and songs. And in plural: trees, songs, poems, poets, cultures, languages. So that this book is a homage to diversity, in its widest significance – that of the whole nature.

This book, “a forest of voices”,has trees as main topic.  Support and proceeds of the book go to organisations for the protection of forests and planting of trees in South America . It is translated to English and Spanish with the help of translators of the Antoine Berman Literary Translation Workshop of the University of Antioquia.

Tigchelaar was inspired by the life tree Yggdrasil from the Nordic mythologt on which Odin (or Weda in Frisian) hung for nine days to acquire wisdom and knowledge on the runes. Erik Jan Harmens and Tigchelaar represent the Netherlands together.

You can read the  English and Spanish translations (by Daniel López) below.

The Poet of the Month March is Carla van der Zwaag.
You can read the Frisian poems on RIXT.

The Poet of the Month February is Yttje Cnossen.
You can read the Frisian poems on RIXT.