But this year’s Gedichtendag is even more special for the inhabitants of Antwerp; they are getting a new city poet, Bernard Dewulf.

“It’s very exciting,” says Dewulf (pictured). “There have already been five great poets who have held this position.” In 2003, author Tom Lanoye became Antwerp’s first city poet, followed by Ramsey Nasr, Bart Moeyaert, Joke van Leeuwen and Peter Holvoet-Hanssen.

Dewulf was chosen by city office Antwerpen Boekenstad (Antwerp City of Books) to fill this revered position. “I feel that it’s my duty to the city and to the people who have chosen me to do a good job,” says Dewulf. “But I will nevertheless be doing it my way.”

The long-time poet, essayist and columnist will write at least 12 poems about the little metropolis by the Scheldt during the course of 24 months, focusing not only on the city’s grandeur but also on the intimate details that would otherwise vanish into thin air.

“I’m especially interested in footpaths,” the 51-year-old says, “their function and the hundreds of people who walk over them every day. But I won’t lie; there is a certain amount of pressure, as these poems will be read by a vast number of people and naturally have to be accessible to a large audience.”

“Part of my soul”

Born and raised in Brussels, Dewulf has lived in Antwerp for 22 years. “I’ve raised a family here so this is the city where I’ve put down roots. I’ve already written a lot about Antwerp in other publications, so you could say that this place has become a part of my soul.”

One of the publications is Kleine dagen (Small Days), a novella made up of short anecdotes in which he describes his own day-to-day life, his marriage and his children, who are growing up far too quickly. The combination of the book’s poignant observations and refreshingly honest yet intimate style landed Dewulf the prestigious Libris Literary Prize in 2010 and the Inktaap, a literary prize awarded by young people, in 2011.

Writing about a city is naturally something very different from that, or from writing about art (Naderingen, a collection of essays on painting) or from penning a successful column for newspaper De Morgen, which he did until 2009. In a city, there are a vast number of places, quirks and issues begging your attention, not to mention those that have already been covered by his predecessors.

“Every city has urban traits, so the trick is focusing on what makes this particular place so unique,” Dewulf explains. “And I don’t mean by referring to particular monuments or such but by incorporating the atmosphere and the people.”

Dewulf ’s contemplative yet heartfelt style is appreciated by readers in whatever form it’s published. “I love variety, but I do believe that the essence of your writing, your own particular style or tone, is the only constant.”

www.antwerpen.be/boekenstad

Fresh fiction

Breaking News

by Dieter Ceustermans • Contact
The second novel by VRT news anchor Dieter Ceustermans was inspired by his years as a journalist on the evening news analysis programme Terzake. In Breaking News, Arthur Reiziger is an acclaimed war reporter but, while on a foreign mission, things go horribly wrong, and his cameraman is shot. Plagued by guilt and resentment, Reiziger falls into a pit of despair and starts to question everything he once held dear: politics, ethics and the influence of the media. An interesting, albeit slightly moralising, novel written in Ceustermans’ clear, no-nonsense style.

De vroolijke tocht (The Jolly Voyage)

by Michiel Hendryckx • Lannoo
Turn-of-the-20th-century Flemish naturalist author Cyriel Buysse wrote De vroolijke tocht about his travels through France by car in October of 1910. Precisely 100 years later, Flemish author (and photographer) Michiel Hendryckx took the same trip, stopping at the same locations as his predecessor to see what has changed. The result is a beautiful new edition of Buysse’s texts written in contemporary Dutch and accompanied by some intriguing insights by Hendryckx. De vroolijke tocht easily illustrates why thousands of Flemings flock to France every year.

Een ziel van glas (A Soul of Glass)

by Bart Vercauteren • Houtekiet
Bart Vercauteren was nominated for multiple prizes last year with his debut novel Het graf van de voddenraper (The Grave of the Ragman), and now this former therapist is back with an acidic commentary on the modern mental health-care system, which appears to “care” less than it should. When mental patient Liesbeth escapes from Sint André’s psychiatric hospital, caretaker Martin goes after her. He finds her in an Italian police cell. On their way back to Belgium, he wonders how this once lucid woman was forced to such extreme measures. Een ziel van glas is a thought-provoking and brave novel but sadly also very predictable.

De Nederlandse maagd (The Dutch Virgin)

by Marente De Moor • Querido
Dutch author Marente de Moor won last year’s AKO literary prize, an award that unites Flanders and the Netherlands as it’s given annually to the best novel written in Dutch. The protagonist in this intoxicating and brooding book is a young girl called Janna who is sent to an estate near Aken where she is taught fencing by an old friend of her father. At the brink of the Second World War, she falls madly in love with Herr Egon von Bötticher and slowly starts to unravel her mentor’s past, leading to a chilling conclusion. It’s easy to see how this beautifully constructed prose and intricate plot won the hearts of the AKO jury.