Abe de Vries is a prolific writer and so DeRyp Publishers can simultaneously present two books involving the writer. The first is De Vries’ tenth collection of poetry Blaumelly and the other is an anthology of stories selected by De Vries by the 19th century writer Waling Dijkstra.
Blaumelly was designed by Johan Bouwhuis and provided with a striking, red horse’s head on the hard cover after a painting by Johan Haanstra. The poems often originate from the poet’s immediate living environment and personal sphere, but deal with universal themes. Add to this the catchy imagery, ingeniously displayed emotions and social involvement and you get strong, relevant verses. In addition to his own poems, Abe de Vries has also recorded translations of poems by, among others, Robert Frost and Iosip Brodsky.
Anthology of stories Waling Dykstra
Last year, Abe de Vries gave an anthology of poems by Waling Dijkstra (1821-1914). But Waling Dykstra is also one of the most important Frisian story writers of the 19th century. He has written hundreds of stories for magazines and collections. Twenty of his shorter stories are included (in a current spelling of the Frisian language) in this anthology. They are often cozy stories with lively dialogues that matter. The stories have been selected by Abe de Vries, who wrote an interesting, short introduction to Dykstra’s stories for this handsome publication.
Presentation
Blaumelly of Abe de Vries and Waling Dykstra Folksskriuwer will be presented simultaneously on November 20 at 4 pm in the village hall of Vrouwenparochie. The first copy of Blaumelly will be presented to Sietske Poepjes, deputy for culture of the province of Fryslân. Due to the corona measures, no more than thirty people can be present.
