*****

Vrouwkje Tuinman (b. 1974), poet, novelist and journalist, has published six collections of poetry. Lijfrente was awarded De Grote Poëzieprijs 2020 – the annual prize for the best book of poetry in the Dutch language. Currently (2023) she is preparing an album with English language texts and a music by composer-laureate Martin Fondse.

Tuinman is an influential figure in the middle generation of Dutch poets. Her voice is strong and confident, deeply personal, yet fearless. Lijfrente maintains the reader’s attention, despite the limited, devastating nature of her theme. The elegiac tone is cut with an abrasive edge of humour and social comment. These are poems that stay in the memory. ‘Just a touch and the tears would stream from her lines, but each time Tuinman is a step ahead. And that is undoubtedly because she has an eye, despite her grief, for incongruous situations and small absurd moments. Humour…