WINNER OF AN ENGLISH PEN TRANSLATES AWARD

Island mountain glacier by acclaimed poet Anne Vegter is tumultuous, humorous, erotic, enigmatic and vulgar in equal measure. Written in an elastic, playful style that levels the playing field of what kinds of images carry poetic weight, the poems inhabit an incongruous space between everyday distractions and intimate, at times uncomfortable or disturbing questions.

Vegter became the first female Poet Laureate of the Netherlands in 2013. This collection, which also features drawings by the author, was awarded the prestigious Awater Poetry Prize in 2011; published with her long-term translator Astrid Alben, Island mountain glacier is Vegter's first full collection in English.

• 'With her turbulent style and extraordinary themes, Anne Vegter is one of the most prominent poets in present-day Dutch literature.'- Dutch Foundation for Literature, Contemporary Dutch Poets series

• 'Tumultuous work, in which the chaos can scarcely be tamed and much is possible that would not work in more concentrated poetry. Vegter's later books make it evident that the poetic principle of free and idiosyncratic use of language forms the basis of everything she writes.'- T. van Deel in Trouw

• 'Vegter does not write easy poetry. This does not mean that her work is inaccessible (on the contrary) but it lacks the tendency to hide anything whatsoever. Her most recent collection, Eiland berg gletsjer (Island Mountain Glacier; 2011), does not shield the reader. Friendship, marriage and sex, deterioration and loss - not in themselves exceptional subjects - are picked apart by Vegter in such a confrontational manner that the reader is left gasping for breath.' - Piet Gerbrandy, Poetry International Rotterdam

• '[Vegter] shows herself to be a courageous and vulnerable poet: courageous because she chooses to write poems that are not merely neat, tidy and decorative, and vulnerable because the directness of her language can be dismissed as banal.' - Jan Baeke, Poetry International Rotterdam

• 'Vegter writes daring, personal poetry that sometimes teases language to the limit. One time her poems may consist of complex chess configurations, whereas at other times the poet can be trite, incoherent or even vulgar. It all contributes to the stimulating, grating feeling that someone is getting too close to you.'- Ron Rijghard in NRC Handelsblad

About the Author
Anne Vegter is the author of numerous poetry collections, children's books, theatre monologues and erotic stories. Her first collection of poems, Het Veerde (It Bounce), was published in 1991, followed in 1994 by Ongekuiste versies (Filth), a book of erotic tales. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Awater Poetry Prize in 2011. Vegter became the first woman to be named Poet Laureate of the Netherlands in 2013 and is Rotterdam's city poet for 2021-22. Her most recent collection, Big Data, was published in 2020. Astrid Alben is a poet, editor and translator. Her most recent collection is Plainspeak (Prototype, 2019). Little Dead Rabbit, a collaboration with Zigmunds Lapsa, is due out in 2022. Astrid Alben is a poet, editor and translator. Her debut collection Ai! Ai! Pianissimo was published by Arc in 2011. She is a Rijksakademie Amsterdam Fellow and was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship in 2014. Her poems, essays, translations and reviews have been widely published, including in the Times Literary Supplement, Granta, Oxford Poetry, The Rialto and The Poetry Review. Her poetry is translated into Romanian, Dutch, Slovenian, Maltese and Chinese. She is currently Director of the Poetry Translation Centre.

Awards
Winner of Awater Poetry Prize 2011 and English PEN translates award 2022.



Book Information
ISBN 9781913513207
Author Anne Vegter
Format Paperback
Page Count 72
Imprint Prototype Publishing Ltd.
Publisher Prototype Publishing Ltd.