PATRICK CORNILLIE (3)

Although I am not 100% in favor of performing, a poem should always be able to be read aloud. It must be melodious. Sound is a bit like the color of the poem and I work hard on it: alliterations, sound repetitions, end rhymes, internal rhymes... They are not there just like that, automatically. Finding the right sound in the right place is very labor-intensive. A poem is made, shaved, polished. Poetry is handmade; it takes a lot of time. Sometimes sounds are also chosen because of their emotional value. An 'o' sound, for example, can express monotony or melancholy.




Only poetry can put a stop to reality, capture things. There is no way to get a grip on reality. Therefore, a poet must create that himself. Sometimes I have the impression that I am always late everywhere, always chasing after reality. Only afterwards do you realize: this and that has happened. If you write something down, you may get a better handle on it.




Flemish is much richer than the standard language. It is also the task of the poet to create neologisms, to be creative with language, to color the language, for example by tearing words from their context, deforming fixed expressions for their own use. A poet must be a bit of an alchemist.





Also see:

Frozen poets - Sculptures, graves and other traces of poets

Dutch poetry in Indonesian language, translated by Siti Wahyuningsih and Albert Hagenaars

Critical reviews on modern Dutch poetry



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