| His cat is called Cord, | |
| his dog Sponge, the fish Air: like -- | |
| how he can kill them. | |
| Zijn ezel heet Priem, | Sein Esel heißt Pfriem, |
| zijn hond Spons, de vis Lucht: zo -- | sein Hund Schwamm, der Fisch Luft: so -- |
| kan hij ze doden. | kann er sie töten. |
Amsterdam, 2025-12-02
The man with the prey and the cracks (Delphine Lecompte) - 2017
Poem "De man met de prooien en de barsten", collection "Western", part 2: whore
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Lecompte, Delphine
| I cannot conceive | |
| the years of killing at all -- | |
| Is that a good thing? | |
| Ik begrijp het niet, | Ich fasse es nicht, |
| de jaren van het moorden -- | die Jahre der Ermordung -- |
| Is dat maar goed ook? | Ist das gut für mich? |
Amsterdam, 2025-04-11
The murderers are among us (Wolfgang Staudte) - 1946
Film "Die Mörder sind unter uns" - Hildegard Knef as Susanne Wallner
Novel "An Artist of the Floating World" (1986, Kazuo Ishiguro), chapter 'October 1948' - "Brave young men die for stupid causes, and the real culprits are still with us"
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Staudte, Wolfgang; Knef, Hildegard
| The good cells: destroyed, | |
| together with the cancer -- | |
| of desperate acts. | |
| De goede cellen: | Die guten Zellen: |
| dood, samen met de kanker -- | tot, zusammen mit dem Krebs -- |
| van wanhoopsacties. | der Verzweiflungstat. |
Amsterdam, 2024-12-11
Palestine (Gaza Strip)
(After causing it,) Labelling desperation as terrorism
Collection: PumicePieces
Tribute to: Murdoch, Iris
| The conqueror is | |
| cruel, oh, I fear his fear -- | |
| for me and my son. | |
| De overwinnaar | Der Sieger ist hart, |
| is wreed, o, ik vrees zijn angst -- | ich fürchte seine Angst vor -- |
| voor mij en mijn zoon. | mir und meinem Sohn. |
De Koog, 2024-09-23
Cold in every vein (Antonio Lucchini / Antonio Vivaldi) - 1727
Air "Gelido in ogni vena" from the opera "Farnace" ("Pharnaces II of Pontus", 1727, Antonio Lucchini, music Antonio Vivaldi, RV 711) Farnace
Collection: Truder
Tribute to: Lucchini, Antonio
Composer: Vivaldi, Antonio
| The fire draws people | |
| near, it flickers eerie screams -- | |
| upon their faces. | |
| Het vuur trekt mensen | Alle schauen zu, |
| aan, het flakkert met kreten -- | das Feuer flackert Schreie -- |
| op hun gezichten. | auf den Gesichtern. |
Amsterdam, 2024-09-10
The pyre screams (Salvatore Cammarano / Giuseppe Verdi) - 1853
Air "Stride la vampa", opera "Il trovatore" ("The troubadour") - Azucena, act 2 - About the witch burning of a gypsy, Azucena's mother
Collection: Held True
Tribute to: Cammarano, Salvatore
Composer: Verdi, Giuseppe
| When I hear seagulls, | |
| I hear the cry of the girl -- | |
| they keelhauled to death. | |
| Als ik meeuwen hoor, | Die Möwen schreien |
| hoor ik het meisje schreeuwen -- | furchtbar schrill, wie das Mädchen -- |
| dat werd gekielhaald. | das gekielt wurde. |
Amsterdam, 2023-11-23
Oarsman on the Drowning of Nisuss Daughter Scylla (Fiona Benson) - 2021
Poem, published on the Granta website (2021) and in the collection "Ephemeron" (2022)
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Benson, Fiona
| Cruel potentates | |
| establish 'peace', simply by -- | |
| creating wastelands. | |
| Dictators stichten | Die Herrscher stiften |
| graag 'vrede', door het scheppen -- | 'Frieden', indem sie schaffen: |
| van woestenijen. | Wüste und Ödland. |
Amsterdam, 2023-09-08
On the life and character of Julius Agricola (Publius Cornelius Tacitus) - 98
For example, Russia in Syria and Ukraine
Political biography "De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae" ("On the life and character of Julius Agricola", AD 98, Publius Cornelius Tacitus), § 30: 'Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ibi solitudinem faciunt, pacem apellant' ('To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire, and where they make a desert they call it peace')
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Tacitus, Publius
| I am not letting | |
| your gun win, so if you want -- | |
| shoot, just shoot to death. | |
| Ik laat jouw geweer | Waffen gewinnen |
| niet winnen, dus als je wilt -- | niemals, aber wenn du willst -- |
| schiet, schiet dan maar dood. | schieße dann mal tot. |
Amsterdam, 2023-09-08
A Change of tongue (Antjie Krog) - 2003
Tale, part 1 § 6
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Krog, Antjie
| Their skin: on the drum, | |
| their bones: our flutes, long and short -- | |
| their teeth: a chainlet. | |
| Hun huid: op de trom, | Die Haut: Trommelfell, |
| hun botten: onze fluiten -- | ihre Knochen: die Flöten -- |
| hun tanden: een snoer. | ihre Zähne: Schmuck. |
Amsterdam, 2022-12-30
March song of Inca soldiers in the 15-16th century: "We will drink from the skull of the traitor, we will adorn ourselves with a necklace of his teeth, we will play the melody of the pinkullu on flutes made of his bones, we shall beat the drum made of his skin and so shall we dance!"
Collection: Migration
| We're drinking black milk | |
| in our graves, in the deep pits -- | |
| we are forced to dance. | |
| Zwarte melk drinken | Schwarze Milch trinken |
| we in ons graf, in de kuil -- | wir in unseren Gräbern -- |
| moeten we dansen. | und müssen tanzen. |
Amsterdam, 2022-02-23
Death Fugue (Paul Celan) - 1948
Poem "Todesfuge" (collection "Der Sand aus den Urnen")
Collection: May the Might
Tribute to: Celan, Paul
| Most murders, of course, | |
| take place in the centre, the -- | |
| core of world power. | |
| De meeste moorden | Die meisten Morde |
| vinden plaats in het centrum -- | finden im Zentrum statt, im -- |
| van de wereldmacht. | Zentrum der Weltmacht. |
Amsterdam, 2018-06-18
A Frisian does not cry (Gerrit Krol) - 1980
Novel "Een Fries huilt niet", chapter 4.1
Collection: Germ Substance
Tribute to: Krol, Gerrit
|
My sister has tried it by halves |
Amsterdam, 2017-05-14
Anne Boleyn,
1532 (marriage) and 1536 (execution)
Collection: Half The Work
|
In the evening the children sit |
Amsterdam, 2017-03-05
Indonesia (1965-1966), Syria (ar-Raqqa 2014)
Documentary film "The act of killing" (2012, Joshua Oppenheimer)
Collection: Short Sermons
|
They are not afraid |
Amsterdam, 2017-02-14
Collection: BloodTrunk
