Ukraine

Myrte Marije Veenbaas (1986) is a poet and writer. She grew up in Amstelveen and currently lives alternately in Amsterdam and Frisia. Myrte made her literary debut in 2024 in the literary magazine Ensafh with six poems. That same year, she became editor-in-chief of the magazine, in which she continues to publish poetry regularly. In 2025, she won the Gjalp poetry prize with the poem ‘Held op sokken’ (‘Hero in Socks’), based on her grandfather, a traumatised resistance fighter.
After the sudden death of her mother in 2025, she began a series of reflective essays on grief, to be published in 2026 in the literary magazine De Moanne. In these texts, she seeks to rediscover meaning in times of loss. She is also working on her first book, Tussen oorijzer (traditional Dutch gold head ornament) en Strijd (Between oorijzer and struggle). Myrte explores the concept of identity and being by embedding it within broader frameworks: family history and landscape play a central role in her work.