Though the Netherlands has been the site of vigorous literary activity since at least the era of the Beweging van Vijftig (Movement of the Fifties) poets, the status of Dutch as a "minor" language has kept its rich poetry more or less a secret. This volume--featuring J. M. Coetzee's finely wrought English translations side-by-side with the originals--brings the work of six of the most important modern and contemporary Dutch poets to light. The poets represented are Cees Nooteboom, Gerrit Achterberg, Hugo Claus, Sybren Polet, Hans Faverey, and Rutger Kopland. Featuring English translations side-by-side with the originals, this volume contains the work of six of the most important modern and contemporary Dutch poets. Ranging in style from the rhetorical to the intensely lyrical, the work here includes examples of myth-influenced modernist verse, nature poetry, experimental poetry, and more. Preface vii Gerrit Achterberg (1905--62) Ballad of the Gasfitter 2(30) Sybren Polet (1924--) Self-Repeating Poem 32(16) Hugo Claus (1929--) Ten Ways of Looking at P.B. Shelley 48(12) Cees Nooteboom (1933--) Basho 60(10) Hans Faverey (1933--90) Chrysanthemums, rowers 70(10) ``The earth; consisting of earthenware'' 80(2) ``From the vase'' 82(6) Rutger Kopland (1934--) Descent in Broad Daylight 88