Geart Tigchelaar (born 1987) will set off on his bicycle on September 13, 2026, heading to the Transpoesie Festival in Brussels. On his luggage rack, he carries an old typewriter, inviting passersby to type their thoughts on what language means to them. This question aligns with the festival’s theme for this year: “Where voices meet.” The festival celebrates language, space, and poetic resistance through and in translations.
From the responses typed on the machine, Tigchelaar plans to write a poem that will be published.
The Transpoesie Festival, an international gathering of poets, will take place in Brussels from September 17 to 19, 2026. Nearly twenty poets from across Europe will perform in various (minority) languages. Each year, the Dutch Writers’ Union (Schrijversbond) selects a Frisian poet to represent the region.
Geart Tigchelaar’s participation at Transpoesie 2026 is made possible by the Skriuwersbûn (Frisian Writers’ Association), the poets’ collective RIXT, and the Jan Roelof Geertsma Fund.
