Weesgedichten up for adoption

December 13, 2023

Today - Dec. 13 - is the first day poetry lovers can adopt a poem as part of the project Weesgedichten. Libraries in several cities are making a wide range of poems by Dutch and Flemish poets available for adoption. The only condition for adoption is that the new parents' home, store, school or business has a ground-floor window visible from the street. Leading up to Poetry Week, practiced handletterers will visit your place to write the adopted poem on the window with washable chalk. In this way, Weesgedichten will transform cities such as The Hague, Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Gouda into a large open air-anthology during Poetry Week.

Weesgedichten has been a hit in Flanders for years, during Poëzieweek 2024, thanks to Stichting de Zoek naar Schittering, cities in Zuid-Holland will get the Dutch first. Check here which libraries are participating (Rotterdam, The Hague, Gouda, Dordrecht, Vlaardingen, the Bollenstreek, among others), libraries from the rest of the Netherlands can already sign up for participation in 2025.