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Martijn Benders (born 23 July 1971 in Helmond) is a Dutch poet and philosopher. He is the chief editor of the literary magazine De Honingzaag. Benders is known for his experimental poetry and has published several poetry collections and philosophical works.
In 2008, Benders published his first poetry collection, Karavanserai, with Nieuw Amsterdam publishers. The collection was nominated for the C. Buddingh'-prijs for best Dutch-language poetry debut. [1]
At the award ceremony for the C. Buddingh'-prijs, Benders performed an unconventional act inspired by the Slovenian band Laibach. Along with Bart van der Pligt and composer Samuel Vriezen, he staged a performance that included reading an anti-prize poem and singing a song titled "Lezen is Lezen" ("Reading is Reading"), set to the tune of "Live Is Life" by Austrian band Opus. [2]
In 2011, Benders self-published his second poetry collection, Wat koop ik voor jouw donkerwilde machten, Willem ("What Do I Buy for Your Dark-Wild Powers, William"), which received positive reviews. [3]
In 2013, Benders published Wôld, Wôld, Wôld!, a personalized poetry book that included dedications to the reader, poems in Dutch and English, concrete poems, and images. [4]
In 2019, Benders co-founded the publishing house De Kaneelfabriek, inspired by the works of Bruno Schulz. He also became the chief editor of the literary-philosophical magazine De Honingzaag. [5] That same year, he published Baah Baaah Krakschaap/De P van Winterslaap, an experimental poetry volume that sold out two print runs. [6]
In 2020, Benders published Waarover de Piranha droomt in de limonadesloot ("What the Piranha Dreams About in the Lemonade Ditch"), a philosophical work exploring human imagination and its relationship with reality.
In 2021, he released Ginneninne, a collection that infused the Dutch language with Gaelic and Irish-based neologisms. [7]
In 2022, he published Amanita Muscaria, the Book of the Empress, an extensive study on the Amanita muscaria mushroom, discussing its role in human evolution and cultural significance.
In 2023, Benders released Gedichten om te Lezen in het Donker ("Poems to Read in the Dark"), a collection written after the loss of two family members. The collection explores themes of grief and reflection. He also published The Eternal Hazing, examining the portrayal of dissenting voices and the dynamics within literary institutions and censorship of leftwing voices in the coronacrisis.
In 2024 he published Het zijn maar Bergen ("It's Only Mountains"), a poetry collection that incorporates artificial intelligence to create a singing book, including eight forewords by deceased poets.
Benders is currently working on a new collection titled In het applaus en lichtstof van lampen ("In the Applause and Light Dust of Lamps").
Benders' work combines various literary styles, including lyrical, conceptual, satirical, and absurdist influences. His poetry and philosophical writings often challenge conventions and critique societal structures. He incorporates elements such as performance art and multimedia into his work. [8]
A crown of sonnets or sonnet corona is a sequence of sonnets, usually addressed to one person, and/or concerned with a single theme. Each of the sonnets explores one aspect of the theme, and is linked to the preceding and succeeding sonnets by repeating the final line of the preceding sonnet as its first line. The first line of the first sonnet is repeated as the final line of the final sonnet, thereby bringing the sequence to a close.
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer is a Dutch poet, novelist, polemicist and classical scholar. He was born in Rijswijk, Netherlands, and studied, lived and worked in Leiden, and he moved permanently to Genoa, Italy, in 2008.
Raymond van het Groenewoud is a Belgian musician. He was born in Schaerbeek, of Dutch descent, and he sings primarily in Dutch. His biggest hits include "Vlaanderen Boven", "Meisjes", "Je Veux de l'Amour", "Zjoske Schone Meid" and "Liefde voor Muziek". He refers to himself as a musician but also a poet, philosopher and clown.
Stefan Hertmans is a Flemish Belgian writer. He was head of a study centre at University College Ghent and affiliated researcher of the Ghent University. He won the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs in 2002 for the novel Als op de eerste dag.
Ida Gerhardt was a classicist and Dutch poet of a post-symbolist tradition.
Cornelis "Kees" Buddingh' was a Dutch poet, TV-presenter, translator. Amongst others he translated A Clockwork Orange and the complete works of William Shakespeare into Dutch. His son Wiebe Buddingh‘ later became the translator of Harry Potter into the Dutch language. The C. Buddingh'-prijs literary award is named after him.
The Jan Campert Prize is a Dutch literary prize established in 1948, which is awarded annually for works of poetry by the Jan Campert Foundation. The foundation was created in 1948 to honour Jan Campert, considered by many to be an icon of the Dutch resistance.
Meindert Fennema was a Dutch political scientist and Emeritus Professor of political science, who was attached to the Department of Political Science and the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies of the University of Amsterdam, where he held the chair on Political Theory of Ethnic Relations.
Anna Enquist is the pen name of one of the more popular authors in the Netherlands, Christa Widlund-Broer. She is known for both her poetry and her novels.
Astrid Heligonda Roemer is a Surinamese-Dutch writer and teacher. The Dutch-language author has published novels, drama and poetry, and in December 2015 was announced as the winner of the P. C. Hooft Award, considered the most important literary prize in the Netherlands and Belgium, which was presented in May 2016.
Maria van Daalen is a Dutch poet and writer. Maria van Daalen is a pseudonym of Maria Machelina de Rooij.
Gerard Stigter, known by the pseudonym K. Schippers, was a Dutch poet, prose writer and art critic. Credited with having introduced the readymade as a poetic form, the whole of his work is dedicated to looking at everyday objects and events in a new way.
The C. Buddingh'-prijs is an annual literary award for the best debut poetry collection in Dutch. The award is given by Poetry International and is named after Dutch poet C. Buddingh'. The award was first given in 1988 and the award is given during the Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam. As of 2022, the winner of the prize receives €1,250.
Elma van Haren is a Dutch poet.
Herman Leenders is a Flemish writer and poet.
Pem Sluijter was a Dutch poet.
Erik Jan Willem Menkveld was a Dutch poet.
Maarten van der Graaff is a Dutch poet.
Lucas Rijneveld is a Dutch writer. Rijneveld won the 2020 International Booker Prize together with their translator Michele Hutchison for the debut novel The Discomfort of Evening. Rijneveld is the first Dutch author to win the prize, the first non-binary person to do so and only the third Dutch author to be nominated.
Marijke Hanegraaf is a Dutch poet. Since 1997, she has lived in Nijmegen; she was the city’s official poet in 2013 and 2014.
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