Esmé van den Boom is the new – and eleventh – city poet of Groningen. Councilor for culture Kirsten de Wrede announced this on Sunday afternoon during a poetry festival in the Oosterpoort.
Van den Boom (1993), who works at Forum Groningen as a collection manager, at Explore the North as a literature programmer and as a freelancer, was previously (from 2016 to 2017) House Poet of the University of Groningen and wrote the collection on the occasion Summer woe .
She was chosen from a total of 30 candidates. The committee sees her as ‘a modest, thorough poet who can make strong use of her poetic talent combined with her love for the city of Groningen’.
Reading tips
As a library employee, Van den Boom ‘stands at the heart of Groningen society, is compassionate and has an eye for all Groningen residents. She also writes good poetry and has the necessary stage experience. As a program maker, she organized literary activities for many years and has partly built up a large network in the cultural world. She is also an enthusiastic reader and shares reading tips.
Hendrik de Vries stipend
In 2018, Van den Boom won the Hendrik de Vries stipend from the Municipality of Groningen and published her debut collection in December 2019 Private rooms, about the future dreams and fears of Groningen women.
City poet
As an ambassador of the city, the city poet captures important local moments in poems, regularly performs and also brings poetry to the attention of the residents of Groningen. The city poetship is for two years.