XSAGA
On May 5, 2025, it will be 80 years since the end of World War II in the Netherlands. Every day, we are reminded of how fragile the concept of freedom can be. What does freedom mean to us? What restricts it, and how do we honor and commemorate it?
Much has been written about war, peace, and liberation by poets in the past. Everyone knows a poem like Leo Vroman's with the famous lines:"Come tonight with stories / of how the war has disappeared / and repeat them a hundred times / each time I will weep." Yet writing about an important subject like freedom never falls silent.
XSAGA has therefore compiled a collection of 80 new poems reflecting on 80 years of freedom, written by contemporary poets. Titled "Stip op de Horizon" (Beacon on the Horizon), the collection was curated by Mirjam van Hengel with a foreword by Ellen Deckwitz. Contributions include works by Alara Adilow, Abdelkader Benali, Gershwin Bonevacia, Bart Chabot, Anna Enquist, Babs Gons, Erik Jan Harmens, Valentijn Hoogekamp, Judith Herzberg, Ingmar Heytze, Pepijn Lanen, Joost Oomen, Iduna Paalman, Hagar Peeters, Idwer de la Parra, Lucas Rijneveld, Martin Rombouts, Bibi Dumon Tak, and Anne Vegter.
Published by De Bezige Bij, paired with an anthology on resistance titled "Breuk in de Horizon" (Fracture in the Horizon) curated by Antjie Krog.
"Stip op de Horizon" was created with the support of the National Committee for 4 and 5 May and Wageningen45.
