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Nyk de Vries is a writer and musician. He was born in Noardburgum in Friesland and read history at Groningen University. At present he lives and works in Amsterdam. Since 2000, he has written two novels, Rozijnkonijn and Prospero, and a collection of ultra-short, absurdist prose poems, Motorman & 39 andere prozagedichten. All of his fiction has been published in both Frisian and Dutch.
In the course of his creative work, De Vries unintentionally happened upon the prose poem. He considers the texts to be byproducts of his own stream of thoughts about apparently unimportant or trivial matters. His poems are short, strange and melancholic, and he strives for compactness, combined with a surprising twist.
De Vries’ regular performances of his prose poems are characterised by a forceful style of delivery. Usually supported by music, he has appeared on a variety of stages, from literary and theatrical festivals like Wintertuin, Dichters in de Prinsentuin, Oerol and Noorderzon to noisier places such as Escape nightclub and the pop circuit. As a musician he plays with Meindert Talma. In Spain he belongs to the Planeta Pato, a group originating from Madrid, in which he performs his prose-poems in Spanish. A selection of his poems will appear this year in the renowned internet magazine Words Without Borders.
De Vries is currently working on a new collection of prose poems and a novel. Besides this, he is more actively combining his musical background with his literary work. Ik dook in een baai, a CD version of his book Motorman, was one of the recent results of this, a collaboration with drummer Corneel Canters and Fokke van der Veen, guitarist from his first band, The Amp, amongst others.
Nyk de Vries was a guest at the 41st Poetry International Festival. This text was written for that occasion.
Selected bibliography
Poetry
Motorman & 39 oare proazagedichten / Motorman & 39 andere prozagedichten (prose poems in Dutch and Frisian), Friese Pers Boekerij, Leeuwarden, 2007
Prose
Rezineknyn (novel in Frisian), Frysk en Frij, Leeuwarden, 2000
Rozijnkonijn (Dutch translation of Rezineknyn), Passage, Groningen, 2003
Prospero (novel in Frisian), Friese Pers Boekerij, Leeuwarden, 2006
Links
Website: www.nykdev.nl
Nyk de Vries’s MySpace page
Nyk de Vries’s Facebook page
