Hester Knibbe’s (Harderwijk, 1946) collection of poetry, Archaïsch de dieren (Archaic the animals, 2014), won this year’s VSB Poetry Prize. Although its title suggests otherwise, Knibbe’s collection centers on mankind and the meaning of our humanity. Themes like love, doubt, fear and the will to know that drove us from paradise, are dealt with in Archaïsch de dieren. ‘In her pure, fluid poems, Knibbe maps out the rituals with which we attempt to enchant our vulnerability, and attempt to delimit the world, in vain’, reads the VSB Prize’s jury report. Knibbe made her debut in 1982 and has won numerous prizes. She was appointed the City Poetry Laureate of Rotterdam in 2015.

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