Description
Book SynopsisAfter first making her mark as a compelling performer, Belgian poet Charlotte Van den Broeck was acclaimed as one of Europe’s most innovative and original new voices in poetry following the publication of her first collection Chameleon in 2015. Her first English translation combines her debut volume with her second book Nachtroer (2017), its untranslatable title the name of all-night shop in Antwerp where she lives. Chameleon is a set of apparently naïve but knowingly ironic, playful and subversive poems which trace a girl’s search for a woman’s identity, a coming-of-age exploration of body and language drawing on memories, shapes and landscapes. In Nachtroer her poems take a nighttime journey through heartbreak, insomnia and the hectic flow of daily life, driven by a desire for disappearance, displacement and dissolution. Chameleon ends with taking to the ocean. Nachtroer’s last poem is about building a boat for such a voyage. Chameleon Nachtroer sets the two books afloat in English.
Trade ReviewThis poetry parades like the chameleon in various appearances…in streaming language and unlikely, striking images. * Humo, on Chameleon *
This is carefully accurate poetry, eloquent and adventurous, and truly authentic. That someone’s second book can be so audacious and dauntless is remarkable. -- VSB poëzieprijs 2018 jury, on Nachtroer
Table of ContentsCHAMELEON I The Red Cross on the Treasure Map 13 Bucharest 14 Sisjön 15 Örebro 16 Växjö 17 Japanese Pond 18 Hvannadalshnúkur 19 August 21 Sampling 22 Diagnosis 23 Fish Bowl 24 Gilles 25 Flamingo 26 The North Sea 27 Charlotte Cake II Discovery Channel 31 People Who Watch Wildlife Films to Better Understand Themselves 32 Grand Jeté 33 Whalespotting 34 Satellite Photo 35 Small Volcano 36 Seraphic Light 38 Tyrant 39 Chameleon [I] 40 Chameleon [II] 41 Felidae [I] 42 Felidae [II] 43 Rorschach 44 Astrology for Beginners 45 Space Peel 46 Instructions 47 Lampyridae 48 Expedition 49 Archaeological Site 50 Hunter/Gatherer 52 Triceratops III Origin 55 Specialist Poulterer 56 Bull’s Head 58 Netezon Laundrette 59 Ausflug/Auszug 60 Winter Veg 61 Council Flat 62 Turtle Reflex 63 Genealogy 64 Fernweh NACHTROER Eight, ∞ 71 [VIII–I] Nachtroer 81 Nachtroer 83 Haematoma 84 Drift 86 Aquarium 87 Blue 90 Lethe 91 Groceries Soft Drinks Spirits & Tobacco 94 The Age of Aquarius 98 —— 99 Thirst 103 Section 109 Fricative 110 Hypostasis 111 Slash and Burn 116 White 119 Topos 120 There 126 You’d Like to Build a Boat
