It is autumn
the woods say
I whistle ‘Autumn Leaves’
and listen to the sound of
rustling foliage
beneath my feet
slowly I wander through
chapters read ragged,
stumble over stanzas, kick a couple
of faded lines into the air and
slip some crumpled words
into my jacket pocket
it is autumn,
the woods snap
make some space, will you
this place is becoming littered with
pages
that
have
fluttered from your books
Frisian poem and Dutch translation: Paul van Dijk
Paul van Dijk (1981) writes prose and poetry, draws, composes and plays music. He writes children’s books that he illustrates himself, including the ‘Omke Ûle’ (uncle owl) picture books. Paul also translated a collection of fairy tales from English into Frisian and he makes visual performances with his theatre group Knûkel. In 2018, his poetry collection ‘Famke fan snie’ (girl of snow) was published. He has received several awards for his poetry, for example, the Douwe Tamminga Prize for his debut. His new poetry collection will be published in 2025.
English translation: Vivien D. Glass
Vivien D. Glass (full name: Vivien Doornekamp-Glass) is a Dutch and English translator and a teacher in adult education. With a life-long fascination for language and literature, she has translated commercial and legal texts as well as book samples, short stories, novels, non-fiction, children’s literature and poetry.
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Illustrator: Michiel Kloppenburg
Michiel Kloppenburg (1984) is a freelance illustrator and animator living in Jelsum. His style can best be described as colourful, playful and minimalist, and he particularly likes working on projects that are linked to sustainability and nature. He is joint founder of Motionatales, an animation studio that makes complex information understandable through animation and motion design. He is also joint founder of Level Up Coworking, a co-working space in Leeuwarden for creative freelancers.