Astrid Alben

Astrid Alben is a Dutch-born British poet, editor and translator. She is the author of several poetry collections and her poems have been translated into many languages including Chinese, Maltese, Slovene and Romanian.[1] Alben often appears at literary festivals throughout Europe,[2][3] including the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival.[4]


Astrid Alben
Born
Astrid Reijna van Baalen
NationalityDutch
Occupation(s)Poet, editor, translator
Years active2007 - present
Websitewww.astridalben.com

Alben was the co-founder and artistic director of the arts and sciences initiative PARS between 2002 and 2018,[5] curating site-specific events which combined theatre, art installation and scientific experiments, in spaces including the Serpentine Gallery[6] and Central Saint Martins in London, and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam.[5] She was elected Chair of Poetry London in 2021[7] and is Commissioning Editor for Literature in Translation for Prototype Publishing.[8]

Biography

Alben was born in Loosdrecht, the Netherlands and raised in Lagos, Nigeria and Hawkhurst, Kent, where she attended Cranbrook Grammar School. Abandoning a law degree at Leiden University, she switched to read English Literature and Philosophy at Edinburgh University. She currently divides her time between London and Amsterdam and is married to the British poet, Philip Hancock.[9]

Works

Alben is the author of four collections of poetry. She has also curated and edited the anthology series Findings on... and site-specific events combining theatre, art installation and scientific experiments.[1] Her poems, reviews and essays have been featured in many anthologies, including the TLS,[10] Granta[11] and Poetry Review.[12]

Books
  • 2011: Alben, Astrid (2011). Ai ! Ai ! pianissimo. Todmorden, England: Arc. ISBN 978-1-906570-73-6.[13]
  • 2019: "Plainspeak". Prototype. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  • 2021: "Klein dood konijn". poeziëcentrum (in Dutch).
  • 2022: Little Dead Rabbit[14]

Anthologies

Translations
  • 2022: Island mountain glacier[15]

Awards

Her translation of Island mountain glacier (Dutch: Eiland berg gletsjer) by Anne Vegter won an English PEN Translates Award in 2021.[16][17][18] She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[1]

Critical reception

Plainspeak was described as reclaiming 'the radical possibility of reinventing ourselves through new and surprising language, which can be done just by speaking in the clearest, plainest form' by SPAMzine.[19] Little Dead Rabbit, a collaboration with graphic designer Zigmunds Lapsa, was described as 'an innovative combination of concrete poetry and abstract handmade die cuts.'[20]

References
  1. "Astrid Alben | Poet, Translator, Editor | London, UK". Astrid Alben. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  2. Malta, Inizjamed (2019-07-09). "Astrid Alben". Inizjamed. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  3. "Winter Warmer Videos 2014". www.obheal.ie. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  4. "A world of literature to enjoy". Times of Malta. 2019-08-12. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  5. "About Hester and Astrid - parsfoundation". www.parsfoundation.com. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  6. "Ways of Curating". Ways of Curating. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  7. "Astrid Alben Elected Chair of Poetry London's Board of Trustees". Poetry London. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  8. "About". Prototype. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  9. "Philip Hancock | Poet". Philip Hancock. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  10. "Astrid Alben Archives". TLS. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  11. "Astrid Alben". Granta. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  12. "Vol 110, No 2, Summer 2020 – The Poetry Society". poetrysociety.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  13. Williams, Aime (2012-03-30). "Astrid Alben: AI! AI! PIANISSIMO". TLS. Times Literary Supplement (5687): 25–26.
  14. "Little Dead Rabbit by Astrid Alben and Zigmunds Lapsa". Prototype. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  15. "Island mountain glacier by Anne Vegter, trans. Astrid Alben". Prototype. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  16. "news - PEN Translates Awards for 'Island mountain glacier' - Letterenfonds". www.letterenfonds.nl. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  17. "PEN Translates awards announced". English Pen. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  18. "PEN Translates award winners from 15 countries revealed". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  19. SPAM (2020-05-08). "(REVIEW) Plainspeak by Astrid Alben". SPAM. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
  20. "Little Dead Rabbit: playful poetry book finds new ways to balance text and design". Creative Boom. 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
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