Selected Poems by Herman Gorter

Translated by Lloyd Haft

​⭐Publisher featured review

A collection of the poetry by the Netherlands' most famous and celebrated poet, this one being the second volume in the two-book series The Essential Gorter. Fortunately, his work is having a revival of interest and now we have a new English translation we can enjoy too.

The beautiful cover of this book, with its bright but gentle watercolours, reflect Gorter's work. The poems in the first section (known as the 'sensitivist' verses) are sensuous and in tune with the flow of nature, with vivid imagery describing the landscape in a true creative and emotive manner. Romance, leading to erotic imagery and intensity, the format of the poems doesn't follow the traditional forms of structure but seem to evolve along with his work.

The final section of the book moves to Gorter's 'Revolution' poems, which are centred around the political European landscape of the beginning of the twentieth century, with talk of workers and red flags, depicted so well in the colour of the sun on the cover. There is also a reference to the revolutionary socialist, Rosa Luxemburg.

This is poetry at its most evocative and sublime. How can I have missed this wonderful writer? Anyone who appreciates the written word should discover Herman Gorter, the visionary and poet.

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Published by Arimei Books on 9 November 2021.
​Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.