O rijkdom van het onvoltooide: The poet J.H. Leopold remembered (1925-2025)

May 22, 2025

On June 21st it will be a hundred years since J.H. Leopold (1865-1925), one of our greatest poets, passed away. Leopold wrote almost his entire oeuvre in Rotterdam, where he lived and worked for almost 35 years, and where he also died. 
J.H. Leopold was a teacher of classical languages ​​at the Erasmiaans Gymnasium for 33 years. A plaque and a line of poetry in neon there commemorate his presence at the school - now located on the Wytemaweg, then on the Coolsingel.
Furthermore, one is looking for signs of his presence in the city, which are there by the way: his books in various libraries, a statue as a tribute in the Doelen, a line on the facade, a street name. 
But more importantly: what about his verses and his (re-)translations of poets from the Classical world, from Arabic and Persian culture? Is his unparalleled work still read in ‘his’ city and elsewhere in the country? In any case, there are hardly any poems by Leopold available to buy new in bookstores. We are waiting for a reprint of his Collected Verses, or if necessary for a good anthology of it. 
In collaboration with the Historische Uitgeverij, the Donner bookstore is honoring one of the Netherlands’ greatest poets on the hundredth anniversary of his death. The Historische Uitgeverij, which in the past has drawn a lot of attention to Leopold’s work, hopes to be able to publish the large biography by Dick van Halsema in the foreseeable future, in which Rotterdam naturally plays an important role on many levels. 

Program 

On Saturday, June 21st, the Donner bookstore is organizing a memorial afternoon from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The complete program will be announced later on the Donner website, but the following can already be announced: 

The first Leopold lecture (the intention is that more will follow with Donner) will be given by Leopold's biographer Dick van Halsema, em. professor of modern language and literature at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Prof. Van Halsema will then be interviewed by poet, writer, columnist and editor of NRC Marjoleine de Vos. In addition, various poets will recite their favorite verse by Leopold and provide a short commentary. Possibly even some of the poet's verses set to music will be performed. 

Admission: free, registration required 
Location: Theater 2nd floor 
Order your ticket here.