Virgula by Sasja Janssen

Virgula by Sasja Janssen

Virgula is an award-winning collection by acclaimed Dutch poet Sasja Janssen, and her second collection to be published in English. Taking as its title the latin word for ’comma’, the poems in Virgula reveal the stories hidden in the spaces in-between: the unending and the unresolved; memories that refuse to be contained. In Janssen’s poetry, the comma becomes much more than a punctuation mark, and is invoked as a muse and companion; she calls on her in every poem, as if she were a goddess, a friend or lover, someone who offers space when the emptiness becomes too heavy. In Janssen’s poetry, painful stories often unfold, events that never came to pass, but which leave traces and scars. Virgula strikes a balance between mystery and razor-sharp intent, through constant shifts and contrasts in perspective. The comma stops the stillness, and allows thoughts and language to move forward. Virgula was awarded the Awater Poetry Prize and was nominated for the Ida Gerhardt Poetry Prize and the Herman de Coninck Prize and De Grote Poëzieprijs (Grand Poetry Prize) for best poetry collection of the year.

Sasja Janssen (b. 1968) is a poet and a teacher of creative writing based in Amsterdam. Her first publications were two novels but since her father's death she has mainly written poetry. Her poetry has been very well received, her most recent collection, Virgula, (2021) was nominated for five Dutch prizes and awarded the prestigious Awater Poetry Prize. Putting On My Species (2014) has been translated into English (Shearsman, 2020). English and Spanish translations of Virgula will appear this year. Janssen has performed nationally and internationally, including at festivals in Nicaragua, Medellín, Mexico and Buenos Aires. The poet and critic Piet Gerbrandy wrote of her work, 'The poet tries desperately to grasp something of the insane world we find ourselves in and in which we have to simply make do, with totally inadequate means.' The poet herself says that the philosophical question 'How should we live?' forms the central theme of her work. Michele Hutchison was born in the UK and has lived in Amsterdam since 2004. She was educated at UEA, Cambridge, and Lyon universities. She translates literary fiction and nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, and children’s books. Recent translations include works by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Raoul Deleo, Octavie Wolters, Gerda Blees, and Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, with whom she shared the 2020 International Booker Prize for The Discomfort of Evening. She also co-authored the successful parenting book The Happiest Kids in the World.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781913513504
ISBN 10	1913513505
Title	Virgula
Author	Sasja Janssen
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Prototype Publishing Ltd.
Year published	2024-02-13
Prizes	Winner of Awater Poetry Prize 2021, Short-listed for Herman de Coninck Prize 2021, Short-listed for De Grote Poëzieprijs (Grand Poetry Prize) 2021, Short-listed for Ida Gerhardt Poetry Priz 2021
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable