Ramsey Nasr

Ramsey Nasr is a Dutch poet, actor, writer and director. He was poet laureate of the Netherlands from 2009 until 2013. 

Nasr began his career as an actor, studying at the theater school Studio Herman Teirlinck in Antwerp. Nasr made his debut as a poet in 2000 with 27 gedichten & Geen lied (27 Poems & No Song) in which his theatrical background is still evident. The debut was nominated for the C. Buddingh’ prize. His long epic poem entitled Geen lied (No Song) was performed as a dramatic monologue by Het Zuidelijk Toneel. This text is a rhymless revamp of motifs from the myth of Orpheus, in which Orpheus descends into the Underworld to seek his beloved Eurydice. His more recent publications include De fundamenten (2021), a collection of essays in which he takes stock of a country during the times of Covid-19, and Hierbij stuur ik u bloeiende boomen (2023) in which Nasr explores himself and our world today through the words of Van Gogh, as found in his literary letters. 

If there is any truth in the cliché that Dutch authors are characterised by modesty and control, Ramsey Nasr is an atypical Dutch poet. He enjoys creating long unfurling verses in which various voices resound, in which humour and tragedy coexist, and in which moralism is not eschewed. Nasr’s recent poems, essays and columns plead passionately in favour of a cosmopolitan, open-minded vision of humans and la condition humaine. After his second collection – Onhandig bloesemend (2004), which was won the H.C. Pernath prize – Nasr opted, increasingly obviously, to give his works political and social significance. In addition, his poems were cast in a more accessible idiom, with long, vernacular sentences without punctuation, an approach by means of which he sought a wider public. 

Nasr was elected City Poet of his place of residence, Antwerp, in 2005. In 2021, Nasr Compacter was released, a compilation featuring the best of over twenty years of poetry brought together.

Vertaler: George Hall