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literature

Maarten Buser: Outline

By Maarten Buser, translated by Paul Vincent
9 January 2020 1 min. reading time Friday Verses

This week’s Friday Verses are written by Maarten Buser. We translated Omtrek (Outline). This poem was first published in Dutch in Het Liegend Konijn, a magazine for contemporary Dutch-language poetry.

Maarten Buser (b. 1991, Doetinchem) is a poet and an art critic. He writes for such media as Gonzo (circus), Metropolis M and de lage landen. His poetry and essays have been published in magazines including Het Liegend Konijn and Revisor. His debut collection, Club Brancuzzi, was published by Koppernik in 2016. In 2018 he won one of the prizes of the Young Art Critics’ Prize. In addition he has translated various English-language poets into Dutch.

Outline

I lost track for a moment
and had become someone who commutes
They say I am computable,

a letterbox for folders
Somewhere a body folds
up for the suitcase

Let me curl up against someone
who searches through my locations,
reassures me about who I am

(Dutch version below the photo)

1Maarten Buser Aad Hoogendoorn Maarten Buser
© Aad Hoogendoorn

Omtrek

Ik lette even niet op
en was iemand geworden die forenst
Ze zeggen dat ik berekend kan worden,

een brievenbus voor folders
Ergens vouwt een lichaam zich
op voor de reiskoffer

Laat me tegen iemand opkrullen
die mijn locaties doorzoekt,
me geruststelt met wie ik ben

website Maarten Buser

1Maarten Buser Aad Hoogendoorn

Maarten Buser

art and poetry critic, poet
photo © Aad Hoogendoorn

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