Jan Arends (1925-1974)

A first time to dedicate a blog to one of dutch almost forgotten poets who finished his life by jumping out of a window in 1974. The reason is a small portfolio of poems , illustrated by Jan Radersma who made illustrations with 10 of Jan Arends his poems.

With a compulsive drive, he scribbled one poem after another. Some of these poems were included in the collection Lunchtime Poems, which was to be presented on January 23, 1974 at Ko van Leest’s in Banstraat. But Arends was already familiar with the other side of success. Success was reserved for others. His mistrust of others had evolved into a paranoid hatred for any successful writer or poet who was rewarded or better compensated. He was allergic to the literary success of others, especially if they also made money from a job outside of literature.

Sitting behind his Adler typewriter, he lashed out at them. He frantically pounded on the keys. The little letters would splatter across the paper as if he were delivering blows to Remco Campert (“If Remco / refuses / to shake my hand, / Remco / does well. – If / I refuse / to shake Remco’s hand, / I am / a beggar.”), or to Harry Mulisch (“When / he mentions Kant, / he is missing / the point. // He lies like Heidegger. // He stays / in the belly / of Schiphol airport / when he / goes on a trip. // His heart beats / in the clock / of Américain”), or, not to be forgotten, “the beast Bernlef.”

In this unpublished poem, Bernlef is addressed with an ominous tone. Here, the poet Arends takes on the role of a poetic replica of the author of “Keefman”.

the below publication is now available at www.ftn-books.com