Anne Vegter

Three years later she debuted as an adult prose writer with a collection of erotic stories, Ongekuiste versies. In all her work, Vegter displays a resilient style that can be called surrealistic on the one hand and disturbing and enigmatic on the other. In January 2013, she became the first female Poet Laureate of the Netherlands. Collaboration with Syrian poet and migrant Gayath Almadhoun led to a joint collection of apocalyptic war poetry, Ik hier jij daar. 

She used her position as Poet Laureate (until 2017) to keep freedom of thought and imagination at the forefront of debate and to see that poetry served a wider purpose as a useful tool for society. She is committed to proving the usefulness of the useless and would like to  see poetry classes become a compulsory part of every secondary school curriculum. 

Vegter’s poetry places her is at the centre of society; she is a teacher, sits on juries and speaks her mind in the media. Poetry has taken her to South Africa, Argentina and China. In 2008 and 2011, her poetry collections Spamfighter and Eiland berg gletsjer were nominated for the VSB-Poëzieprijs. Vegter was awarded the Libris Woutertje Pieterseprijs, the Anna Blamanprijs, the Taalunietoneelschrijfprijs, the VSB-publieksprijs and the Awaterpoëzieprijs.