Mei (poem)
Mei (May) is a poem written by the Dutch poet Herman Gorter and published in 1889. It established Gorter's reputation as a poet and one of the foremost writers of the Tachtigers movement. It is one of the most famous poems in the Dutch language. It has 4,381 lines.[1]
Herman Gorter painted by Thérèse Schwartze
The opening lines are some of the most famous in dutch literature:[1][2]
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| Een nieuwe lente en een nieuw geluid: Ik wil dat dit lied klinkt als het gefluit, Dat ik vaak hoorde voor een zomernacht In een oud stadje, langs de watergracht. |
A new spring and a new sound: I want this song to sound like the whistle, That I often heard on a summer's night In an old town, along the water canal. |
The poem was published in De Nieuwe Gids, a poetry journal.[3]
Translations
The poem has been translated into several languages:
- French, translated by Nicolas Ouwehand and published in 2017
- Western Frisian, translated by Klaas Bruinsma published in 1998
- English, translated by M. Kruijff and published in 2021.[4]
References
- "1889: Mei: 'Een nieuwe lente en een nieuw geluid' | Koninklijke Bibliotheek". www.kb.nl. Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- "Gedicht Mei van Herman Gorter". Poëzie verrijkt het leven. Poëzie verrijkt het leven. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- Vincent, Paul. "Herman Gorter: an introduction". www.poetryinternational.org. Poetry International. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- Gorter, Herman (2021). May, an epic poem about youth. ISBN 9789083133607.
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