Island mountain glacier
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.
‘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