Poet of Vaderland
The title Dichter des Vaderland (also DdV ) is an initiative of the NRC Handelsblatt , the Nederlandse Programma Stichting (NPS) and the Stichting Poetry International . It's not an official title. The idea is inspired by the tradition of the Poet Laureate .
The first holder of this honorary title was the poet Gerrit Komrij on January 27, 2000 . Rutger Kopland got the most votes from the poetry readership, but declined the award with thanks because of the amount of work that this award would entail. So number two, Komrij, became the first official poet of Vaderland .
From December 3, 2004 to January 2, 2005, Driek van Wissen from Groningen was elected Komrij's successor. Ramsey Nasr followed in January 2009 and Anne Vegter has been a poet of the fatherland since 2013.
In addition to the poet of the fatherland, the Netherlands also know a large number of poets with the honorary title stadsdichter (city poet).
List of award winners
| poet | Period as title holder |
|---|---|
| Gerrit Komrij | 2000-2004 |
| Simon Vinkenoog | 2004-2005 |
| Driek van knowledge | 2005 - 2009 |
| Ramsey Nasr | 2009-2013 |
| Anne Vegter | 2013 - today |
In Belgium
Even Belgium had previously been a poet of Vaderlands: Already in 1899 the French-speaking Flemish poet was Emile Verhaeren by King Albert I called "poète national" (= national poet).
The honorary title has been awarded again in Belgium since January 2014. After two years, the honorary title goes to a poet from a different language community in Belgium.