‘In 2018, Leeuwarden and Valletta (the capital city of Malta) were the European City of Culture. Leeuwarden and the Bildt region have had ties with Malta since as far back as around 1850. Every year, the first potatoes are shipped from the Bildt to Malta around the end of September and the new potatoes – grown from the seedlings – find their way back the same way the following March. Malta and Friesland are also officially dual language and have a wealth of modern and classic poetry, all of which has resulted in a literary poetry project: an exchange of Frisian and Maltese poems.’ (http://www.bildtseaardappelweken.nl/english)
During a period of four years, poems were shipped with potato bags from Friesland to Malta, and vice versa. Finally the poems written for the project were included in a quadrilingual publication of poems from Friesland and Malta (Frisian, Maltese, Dutch, and English): Poetic potatoes. Poetry in potato bags (2018). Frisian and Maltese poets had exchange meetings in Friesland and Malta, and performed together at different occasions. Several RIXT-poets contributed to the project.
Read here the potato poem written by Yva Hokwerda.
Poetic Potatoes project was part of the Bildt Potato Weeks 2018, which was included in the Leeuwarden/Fryslân European City of Culture 2018 programme under the name ‘Potatoes go Wild’. The idea behind the programme was, that the city meets the countryside and the countryside goes to the city.