Yva Hokwerda is RIXT-poet of the month June 2019.
You can read her original Frisian poems of that month here.
An English translation of one of these poems will be available soon.
Simon Oosting – May 2019
Simon Oosting was RIXT-poet of the month May 2019.
You can read his original Frisian poems of that month here.
An English translation of one of these poems will be available soon.
Concerning canaries
Gerrit de Vries was RIXT-poet of the month April 2019.
You can read his original Frisian poems of that month here.
One of them – concerning canaries – is published here in translation.
concerning canaries
back then in the coalmine
a cage was hung in the gallery
behind bars sat a canary
carbon monoxide
lack of oxygen
mine gas was a hazard
the miners knew
when the whistling ceased
they could no longer be at ease
grandma had two canaries
Tom and Joy
until one day her tomcat
she fed Tom bird seed
rejoicing he sat sated
on his bar
when both were old
he just fell off
a godwit thrashes
his pecker to bits
looking for food
that no longer is
on the withered green
monotonous wasteland
a fleeing chick is running
out of breath
just pretend
all is fine
a meadow is no coalmine
a godwit ’s no canary
© Gerrit de Vries
Translation: Trevor Scarse
Oer kanarjes
eartiids yn de koalemyn
hong in koaike yn de galerij
siet efter traaljes in kanarje
koalmonokside
tekoart oan soerstof
myngas wie in gefaar
de mynwurkers wisten
as it fluitsjen ophold
dat der wat net doogde
beppe hie twa kanarjes
Piet en Jubel
oant op in dei de boarre
hja fuorre Piet sjongsied
sêd siet er te jubeljen
op syn stôk
doe’t beide âld wienen
foel er dêr ôf
in skries huft him
de snaffel stikken
siket nei iten
dat der net langer is
op de útdrûge grien
monotoane hûngerpôle
draaft in pyk op ‘e flecht
him út de liken
doch mar krekt
as is alles yn oarder
in greide is gjin koalemyn
in skries is gjin kanarje
© Gerrit de Vries
Piter Yedema – April 2018
Piter Yedema († 2018) was RIXT-poet of the month April 2018.
You can read his original Frisian poem of that month here.
An English translation of this poem will be available soon.
Edwin de Groot – March 2019
Edwin de Groot was RIXT-poet of the month March 2019.
You can read his original Frisian poems of that month here.
An English translation of one of these poems will be available soon.
Fantastic plastic
Janneke Spoelstra was RIXT-poet of the month January 2019.
You can read her original Frisian poems of that month here.
One of them – Fantastic Plastic – will be published here in translation soon.
Fantastic Plastic
De krêft fan plestik learde ik al jong kennen:
sa wie ik in kear mei ús mem
by pake en beppe te teedrinken
en beppe joech ús in koekje by de tee.
It wie gesellich sa mei-inoar, oant
pake it plestik bakje, dêr’t de koekjes
út kamen, en dat leech op ’e tafel
stie, byinoar frommelje woe.
Syn âlde wrottershannen krigen it bakje
wol wat yninoar, mar sagau’t se los lieten,
sprong it, mei heechút wat falske tearen,
wer yn ’e oarspronklike foarm
op it plusen taffelskleed werom.
Pake seach der mispriizgjend nei
en besocht it op ’e nij. Wer griepen
de ronfelige hannen nei it glinsterjende bakje.
Hy kniep en kniep, de readblauwige ieren
op ’e hannen setten derfan op. Beppe en mem
en ik holden de siken yn. Oant op ’t lêst
ús mem sei: ‘No, dat slagget echt net, hear.’
Hoe’t pake doe nei har seach…
en hoewol’t it noch mar om ende by 1970
wie en pake goed mei syn skoandochter koe,
it lei, as ik der no oan weromtink,
der allegear al yn besletten: ús wrakseljen mei
plastic soup/sop yn ’e oseänen, it wurkstik
fan Boyan Slat, MSC Zoe har konteners yn
ús seeën, de fersen op www.rixt.frl
en sels de tema-edysje fan Iepen Up,
sa’t Obe Postma al sei: ‘alles is yn alles’
… mar ús mem hie gelyk. Loslitten wie it bakje
noch hieltyd in bakje. It gniisde ús fan
de tafel ûnferwoestber oan.
‘Ik bin Fantastic Plastic,’ rôp it,
‘en net stikken te krijen!’
© Janneke Spoelstra
Hein Jaap Hilarides – January 2019
Hein Jaap Hilarides was RIXT-poet of the month January 2019.
You can read his poems of that month, written in the Bildts language, here.
An English translation of one of these poems will be available soon.
Henk Nijp – December 2018
Cornelis van der Wal – November 2018
Cornelis van der Wal was RIXT-poet of the month November 2018
You can read his original Frisian poems of that month here.
One of them – hout en snie / wood and snow – will be published here in translation soon.
Hout en Snie
Yn it Frysk te skriuwen liket op ‘e hjerst,
it hier fan slûgjende skoalmasters rûgelet
op blêden griis papier, de houtene pinne
fermôget stadich. It is dus de natoer.
Yn it Frysk te skriuwen liket op stjerren.
Dichter draaft as wite rôt yn it winterrêd
om en kin net fuort. Hy skriuwt mei snie.
De literêre Maitiid komt net mear, seit Pyt.
© Cornelis van der Wal
Eppie Dam – October 2018
Eppie Dam was RIXT-poet of the month October 2018.
You can read his original Frisian poems of that month here.
An English translation of one of these poems will be available soon.