Tsead Bruinja
(The Netherlands, 1974)
“remember there is a land that is part of me where I do not live/ I must return there is a mystery I must engage in// who do I scare where who do I deprive of night/ I make another world with light and proudly present my peep-show”. These lines come from Batterij (Battery), published in 2004, the second Dutch-language collection of poetry by the Frisian poet Tsead Bruinja (Rinsumageest, 1974). Prior to this, he had already privately published two Dutch-language collections: Vreemdgaan (Straying) in 1998, and Startschot (Starting Shot), with a number of other poets, in 1999. In 2003, he published the collection Dat het zo hoorde (Heeding).
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Tsead Bruinja belongs to a new generation of Frisian poets. Just like many other young Frisians, Bruinja writes in both Dutch and Frisian, mirroring the bilingual situation in Friesland. In 2000, he made his debut in Friesland with the collection of poems De wizers yn it read/ De wijzers in het rood (The Meter in the Red). A year later his De man dy’t rinne moat/ De man die lopen moet (The Man Who Has to Walk) appeared, and the third Frisian collection Gegrommel fan satyn/ Gegrommel van satijn (Snarls of Satin) was published in 2003.
In addition to being a poet, Bruinja is also active as an anthologist: October 2004 witnessed the presentation of a bilingual miscellany that he compiled in conjunction with Hein Jaap Hilarides: Droom in blauwe regenjas/ Dream yn blauwe reinjas – Nieuwe Friese dichters / Nije Fryske dichters (Dream in a Blue Raincoat – New Frisian Poets). At the beginning of 2005, the collection of poems Klotegedichten (Load of Balls) appeared, edited by Bruinja and Daniël Dee. This is a sequel to the anthology Kutgedichten (Load of Twat) which appeared in 2004.
Tsead Bruinja currently lives in Amsterdam. He studied English and Frisian at the University of Groningen. The central theme in his Frisian oeuvre is the struggle with his mother tongue. He is seeking his roots and involves the reader in this quest: “De holle is my net genôch. Ik bin wer thús oan it kommen yn myn lea. Ik wol graach datst meisjochst” (“The mind alone is not enough for me. I am returning home to my body. I want you to come and see”), he writes in the epilogue to Wizers yn it read. Of course, his quest is not without problems. Bruinja attempts to form the words to his image, but that fails. The language “bliuwt fan wetter/ it oantinken en ik stik/ sawat yn ’e gloarweagen/ de wurden dy’t it swimbad/ my yn de mûle triuwt/ gean mei my kopke-ûnder” (“remains water/ memories and I almost drown/ in the chlorinated waves/ the words that the swimming pool/ crams into my mouth/ join me in ducking unde), as expressed in Gegrommel fan satyn.
The musicality and the wealth of association make it a pleasure to read Bruinja’s work, but it is just as pleasant to listen to it and to watch him present it. His performances, either with or without music accompaniment by hip-hop of flamenco musicians, fire the imagination.
In addition to being a poet, Bruinja is also active as an anthologist: October 2004 witnessed the presentation of a bilingual miscellany that he compiled in conjunction with Hein Jaap Hilarides: Droom in blauwe regenjas/ Dream yn blauwe reinjas – Nieuwe Friese dichters / Nije Fryske dichters (Dream in a Blue Raincoat – New Frisian Poets). At the beginning of 2005, the collection of poems Klotegedichten (Load of Balls) appeared, edited by Bruinja and Daniël Dee. This is a sequel to the anthology Kutgedichten (Load of Twat) which appeared in 2004.
Tsead Bruinja currently lives in Amsterdam. He studied English and Frisian at the University of Groningen. The central theme in his Frisian oeuvre is the struggle with his mother tongue. He is seeking his roots and involves the reader in this quest: “De holle is my net genôch. Ik bin wer thús oan it kommen yn myn lea. Ik wol graach datst meisjochst” (“The mind alone is not enough for me. I am returning home to my body. I want you to come and see”), he writes in the epilogue to Wizers yn it read. Of course, his quest is not without problems. Bruinja attempts to form the words to his image, but that fails. The language “bliuwt fan wetter/ it oantinken en ik stik/ sawat yn ’e gloarweagen/ de wurden dy’t it swimbad/ my yn de mûle triuwt/ gean mei my kopke-ûnder” (“remains water/ memories and I almost drown/ in the chlorinated waves/ the words that the swimming pool/ crams into my mouth/ join me in ducking unde), as expressed in Gegrommel fan satyn.
The musicality and the wealth of association make it a pleasure to read Bruinja’s work, but it is just as pleasant to listen to it and to watch him present it. His performances, either with or without music accompaniment by hip-hop of flamenco musicians, fire the imagination.
Last updated: Feb 16, 2009
© Image: Roeland Fossen
“Musicality sparkles through all of Bruinja’s poems.”
Maria Barnas in De Groene Amsterdammer
“One expects a great deal from a poet who writes verses like these.”
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer in NRC Handelsblad
Interview
About 6 questions to Tsead Bruinja (dutch / 16 min)
Essays
Tsead Bruinja at the Poetry International Festival Rotterdam 2005
Bibliography
Dutch poetry
Dat het zo hoorde (Contact, 2003)
Batterij (Contact, 2004)
Bang voor de bal (Cossee, 2007)
Frisian poetry
De wizers yn it read (Bornmeer, 2000)
De man dy’t rinne moat (Bornmeer, 2001)
Gegrommel fan satyn (Bornmeer, 2003)
Gers dat alfêst laket (Bornmeer, 2005)
Poems on CD
Zingo Poetry Slam – Het beste van drie jaar Poetry Slam in Nederland (Vassallucci & De Wintertuin, 2004)
Anthologies by Tsead Bruinja and others
Kutgedichten, gedichten over en met het vrouwelijke geslachtsdeel. Collected by Daniël Dee and Tsead Bruinja (Passage, 2004)
Droom in blauwe regenjas / Dream yn blauwe reinjas. Nieuwe Friese dichters / Nije Fryske dichters. Collected by Hein Jaap Hilarides and Tsead Bruinja (Contact & Bornmeer, 2004)
Klotengedichten, poëzie over de mannelijke genitaliën. Collected by Daniël Dee and Tsead Bruinja (Passage, 2005)
Het eerste wonder - De geboorte in meer dan 50 gedichten. Collected by Thomas Möhlmann and Tsead Bruinja (Van Gennep, 2007)
Links
Bruinja’s homepage
In thirteen different languages
In Dutch:
Bruinja on MTV
You need Flash for this site.
VPRO
Bruinja on VPRO-Radio
Appels kopen
One poem in MP3
Droom in blauwe regenjas
Anthology of contemporary Frisian poetry
Bruinja on iPoetry.nl
In English:
Epibreren
Information and one poem in English
Dream in a blue raincoat
Anthology of contemporary Frisian poetry
Tsead Bruinja on Lyrikline
Maria Barnas in De Groene Amsterdammer
“One expects a great deal from a poet who writes verses like these.”
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer in NRC Handelsblad
Interview
About 6 questions to Tsead Bruinja (dutch / 16 min) Essays
Tsead Bruinja at the Poetry International Festival Rotterdam 2005
Bibliography
Dutch poetry
Dat het zo hoorde (Contact, 2003)
Batterij (Contact, 2004)
Bang voor de bal (Cossee, 2007)
Frisian poetry
De wizers yn it read (Bornmeer, 2000)
De man dy’t rinne moat (Bornmeer, 2001)
Gegrommel fan satyn (Bornmeer, 2003)
Gers dat alfêst laket (Bornmeer, 2005)
Poems on CD
Zingo Poetry Slam – Het beste van drie jaar Poetry Slam in Nederland (Vassallucci & De Wintertuin, 2004)
Anthologies by Tsead Bruinja and others
Kutgedichten, gedichten over en met het vrouwelijke geslachtsdeel. Collected by Daniël Dee and Tsead Bruinja (Passage, 2004)
Droom in blauwe regenjas / Dream yn blauwe reinjas. Nieuwe Friese dichters / Nije Fryske dichters. Collected by Hein Jaap Hilarides and Tsead Bruinja (Contact & Bornmeer, 2004)
Klotengedichten, poëzie over de mannelijke genitaliën. Collected by Daniël Dee and Tsead Bruinja (Passage, 2005)
Het eerste wonder - De geboorte in meer dan 50 gedichten. Collected by Thomas Möhlmann and Tsead Bruinja (Van Gennep, 2007)
Links
Bruinja’s homepage
In thirteen different languages
In Dutch:
Bruinja on MTV
You need Flash for this site.
VPRO
Bruinja on VPRO-Radio
Appels kopen
One poem in MP3
Droom in blauwe regenjas
Anthology of contemporary Frisian poetry
Bruinja on iPoetry.nl
In English:
Epibreren
Information and one poem in English
Dream in a blue raincoat
Anthology of contemporary Frisian poetry
Tsead Bruinja on Lyrikline
