Gjin sin oan trek
By Eppie Dam
Sander found this poem on a note
in his lunchbox, on the train on his way to work
In salm út Tsjechië
hie gjin sin oan trek
nei al dy see.
Hij fûn in útrin
fan de blauwe Donau
moai genôch
en ferlangen
in minske-idee.
Eppie Dam
Eppie Dam (Kollumerpomp, 1953) is a poet, writer, children’s book writer, creator of liturgical work, translator and poetry critic. He worked as a teacher in Urk and Balk. He is a productive and versatile writer and has built up a rich oeuvre of poems, children’s books and spiritual repertoire. Translations by him have appeared in all genres. He wrote cantatas with several composers and translated Jan Rot’s version of the St. Matthew Passion in Frisian. In 2023, Dam himself created an idiosyncratic and groundbreaking Frisian Passion, entitled In frjemdling yn Jeruzalem (A stranger in Jerusalem), with music by Gerben van der Veen. Together they are working on a grand Fryslân Symphony, which will premiere in 2027. In 2024, Pompster Psalmen was published by Uitgeverij Wijdemeer, an autobiography in verse.
Photo: Tresoar | Haye Bijlstra