The poet and author, Antjie Krog, has become the first South African to receive a prestigious Dutch cultural award.
The Golden Goose Feather (Gouden Ganzenveer) is awarded annually to a person or institution for their great importance for the written and printed word in the Dutch language.
With 11 books of poetry and five non-fiction books, Antjie Krog is one of the great writers of South Africa.
However, her work has also found a good market in the Netherlands with eight of her poetry books translated into Dutch. She visits the country often and says she was given a platform by the Dutch who embrace poetry like no one else, even dedicating a day to the celebration of the art form.
The Netherlands has a strong bond with South African artists.
Krog receives the award for her poetry but also her exceptional integrity as a writer and journalist. Consul General in Cape Town, for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bonnie Horbach, says Krog’s work is well respected in the Netherlands.
“Her work is very versatile and her poetry also has an influence in the Netherlands, people love to listen to it but it also touches you right at the core of your sole and she’s a great performer of her own work as well.”
Krog made her debut as poet at the age of 17 and says her life would be empty without poetry.
“If you listen to a poem, or if you read a poem and you close the book after that your whole being has been intensified, your senses has worked your completeness has been captured just for that short moment and I think one should never, never give up on that.”
