Ever since Joost Baars (1975, NLD) won the VSB Poetry Prize with his debut Binnenplaats in 2018, things seemed to go quiet. Until now. At the 56th edition of Poetry International he will present, for the very first time, new work from his forthcoming collection, due in May. This is poetry to sit with for a moment and really let sink in: mystical, intense and slightly hallucinatory. Baars has graced Poetry International before (49th edition), but we are wildly curious to hear what has taken root in eight years of book silence and how it will sound.
How you might know this poet
- Winner of the VSB Poetry Prize (2018) for Binnenplaats, the most important Dutch poetry award.
- Active as essayist and poetry critic in, among others, Awater and De Poëziekrant.