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2021
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Description
'May' is Volume 1 of 'The Essential Gorter'. The classic original Dutch text 'Mei' is included in this special edition. 'May' describes the magical journey of adolescence against the background of Holland’s flowery dunescapes. In strokes of wonder-filled impressions a stunningly unspoiled girl, May, explores the promise of springtime and the intense spiritual life of youth. However, the cycle of life always moves on, and as May matures and returns to earth, she finds it readying for summer. When Herman Gorter published 'May' (Dutch: Mei) in 1889, this spontaneous and vibrant epic poem was immediately recognized by his peers as a landmark of Dutch literature. 'May' was perhaps an inevitable product of the artistically revolutionary and highly lucid spirit in The Netherlands of the 1880s. While Gorter’s contemporary, Vincent Van Gogh, had just completed the groundbreaking 'Sunflowers' series of paintings, Gorter succeeded with 'May' in composing his own artistic monument of colourful and innovative power. 'The reader is drawn almost breathlessly onward through magnificent word-groups ... full of surprising turns of phrase ... Before you know it, you'll be reading it out loud!' - Lloyd Haft, poet 'Closer to Gorter is near impossible' - Jan de Jong for Tzum. 'A must-read for anyone with an interest in language and poetry...' - Dr. Jacqueline Bel, Professor of Literature, VU Amsterdam, CAANS Magazine. 'This thoughtful, lyrical translation will stir the imagination and invite consideration of what makes the heart sing, even if the joy, like May, is only temporary. The poem, though, will endure.' - Editor's Pick, Booklife Translated by M. Kruijff. Bilingual and annotated edition.
...Dichter bij Gorter zal geen Engelstalige lezer ooit komen. Zowel in Verzen, als in Mei, Pan of in enig ander werk was Herman Gorter allereerst een stemmingsdichter, iemand die bij uitstek zijn lezers op een golf van gevoel kon meevoeren. Dát is de kern van zijn werk. En de twee delen van The Essential Gorter juist daarin meesterlijk geslaagd.
Gorter was born in Wormerveer, a rural town in the north-western Netherlands. His father, a pastor, died when he was six years old. Gorter studied classical languages in Amsterdam and became a teacher at a high school. In 1889, after three years of work on his epic poem 'May' (in Dutch: Mei), Gorter finally could proclaim “the thing is done.” 'May' was published in the contemporary periodical The New Guide (De Nieuwe Gids). It was a retrospect of Gorter’s youth, borrowing both form and theme from John Keats’ 'Endymion' (1818), yet tracing its way through a wide range of impressions: of nature, music, love, the search for the divine, disillusion, transience, and melancholic reflection. Spontaneous and full of vibrant imagery, 'May' quickly became a landmark of the 1880s literary movement in The Netherlands, the so-called ‘Eightiers’ (Tachtigers), which attempted to reclaim aesthetics for art. In 1890, the even more innovative 'Verses' (Verzen) were published, in which Gorter digs further and tries to let his spiritual and sensual emotions express themselves. Always in search of the ultimate form of poetry, Gorter would gradually distance himself from the individualistic ‘Eightiers’ movement. He became increasingly politically engaged and turned to expressing his Marxist ideals through his work, for example in the epic poem 'Pan' (1916) and 'Lyrics' (Liedjes, 1930). Gorter however never gave up his identity as a poet. Love remained a key theme in his work until his death.
...Dichter bij Gorter zal geen Engelstalige lezer ooit komen. Zowel in Verzen, als in Mei, Pan of in enig ander werk was Herman Gorter allereerst een stemmingsdichter, iemand die bij uitstek zijn lezers op een golf van gevoel kon meevoeren. Dát is de kern van zijn werk. En de twee delen van The Essential Gorter juist daarin meesterlijk geslaagd.
Gorter was born in Wormerveer, a rural town in the north-western Netherlands. His father, a pastor, died when he was six years old. Gorter studied classical languages in Amsterdam and became a teacher at a high school. In 1889, after three years of work on his epic poem 'May' (in Dutch: Mei), Gorter finally could proclaim “the thing is done.” 'May' was published in the contemporary periodical The New Guide (De Nieuwe Gids). It was a retrospect of Gorter’s youth, borrowing both form and theme from John Keats’ 'Endymion' (1818), yet tracing its way through a wide range of impressions: of nature, music, love, the search for the divine, disillusion, transience, and melancholic reflection. Spontaneous and full of vibrant imagery, 'May' quickly became a landmark of the 1880s literary movement in The Netherlands, the so-called ‘Eightiers’ (Tachtigers), which attempted to reclaim aesthetics for art. In 1890, the even more innovative 'Verses' (Verzen) were published, in which Gorter digs further and tries to let his spiritual and sensual emotions express themselves. Always in search of the ultimate form of poetry, Gorter would gradually distance himself from the individualistic ‘Eightiers’ movement. He became increasingly politically engaged and turned to expressing his Marxist ideals through his work, for example in the epic poem 'Pan' (1916) and 'Lyrics' (Liedjes, 1930). Gorter however never gave up his identity as a poet. Love remained a key theme in his work until his death.