Germain Droogenbroodt – Poems and biography

Germain Droogenbroodt, was born 11 September 1944 in Rollegem, the Flemish part of Belgium. In 1987 he moved to the Mediterranean artist village of Altea and integrated in Spanish literary life.

Germain Droogenbroodt is an internationally appreciated poet. He wrote short stories and literary reviews, but mainly poetry, so far 17 poetry books, published in 30 countries. He is also translator, publisher, and promoter of modern international poetry and translated – he speaks six languages – more than thirty collections of German, Italian, Spanish, Latin American, English and French poetry, including anthologies of Bertolt Brecht, Mahmud Darwish, Reiner Kunze, Miguel Hernández, José Ángel Valente, Francisco Brines and also rendered Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Persian and Korean poetry into Dutch.

As founder and editor of the Belgian publishing house POINT Editions (POetry INTernational) he published more than eighty collections of mainly modern, international poetry organised and co-organised several international poetry festivals in Spain. He is co-founder and advisor of JUNPA (Japan Universal Poets Association), general counsel of the Chinese cultural Association Huifeng, International Shanghai and founding president of the Spanish cultural foundation ITHACA. He also collaborates with several international poetry associations.

His poetic oeuvre is many-sided. After his début with “FORTY AT THE WALL” (1984), defined as neo-romantic poetry, he published “Do you know the country?”, Meditations at Lake Como (Italy), a collection of nature poems. In 1995 he was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship (Scotland) where he wrote “CONVERSATION WITH THE HEREAFTER”, awarded in Belgium with the P.G. Buckinx-Prize and “PALPABLE ABSENCE”, a bilingual (Dutch Spanish) collection of love poems. A critic of the Dutch Information Office for Libraries described his love poems as “virtuoso poetry”. At the end of 1998 appeared “BETWEEN THE SILENCE OF YOUR LIPS”, his collected love poems.

During his sojourn at the Palace-Fortress “Neemrana” in Rajasthan, 1998, he completed the poetry cycle “THE ROAD”, published in China as TAO, a poetic bridge between the East and the West, inspiring the Flemish artist Frans Minnaert and the Indian painter Satish Gupta, who enriched “The Road” with their drawings. This philosophical, mystical poetry has been published in 25 countries, according to the Icelandic poet-critic Thór Stefansson prophetic, philosophic poetry. In 2001 he wrote in Spanish “AMANECE EL CANTOR” (The Singer Awakes), a homage to the deceased poet José Ángel Valente, followed by “COUNTERLIGHT” written in Ronda (Southern Spain) in 2002, published in Spain by Calima Ediciones, in Romania by ex Ponto, in Belgium by POINT Editions, in both Mongolian languages by GCompress Co., Ltd. Ulaanbaatar, in Arab by Albayat (Morocco), in Hong Kong by “Contemporary Poetry”, and in Taiwan by Poet Culture. Corp. The latter publication includes also “COUNTERLIGHT“.

His poetry book “IN THE STREAM OF TIME, Meditations in the Himalayas”, was published in 2008 in Belgium and as part of “Selected Poems by Germain Droogenbroodt”, 2008 in Shanghai by the Shanghai Literature & Art Publishing Group and in Spain, laureate of the XXIX Premio de Poesía Juan Alcaide 2008. Struga Poetry Evenings also published “IN THE STREAM OF TIME” in their prestigious “Pleiades” in 2010. The book was also translated in Japanese and launched at the Kyoto City International Foundation in Kyoto, Japan in 2010 and in Gaelic (Irish) in 2012. A selection of his poems was also published in Bengal in Bangladesh (2012 and 2015). “UNSHADOWED LIGHT”, was launched end 2012 in a bilingual Dutch-Spanish publication at the Book Fair in Antwerp and in several Belgian towns and in Spain. “IN THE STREAM OF TIME, Meditations in the Himalayas” was published in Romania in 2015.

The anthology “THE DEWDROPS OF DAWN”, a selection from 11 poetry books, was published with illustrations by Satish Gupta in German, in Dutch and in Croatian (2014). “DEWDROPS”, a selection of 100 haiku in Japanese, English, Spanish, and Dutch was published by JUNPA, Kyoto, and launched in Japan end 2016. His poetry book, “THE EPHEMERAL FLOWER OF TIME” was published end 2016 in Dutch and Spanish and in English (2017) and in 2021 in Serbia, in Japan and in China. “THE ORACLE OF TIME”, published 2019 in the US. His last but one book “THE UNREST OF THE WORD” was published Dutch-Spanish in Belgium, Chile and Holland. “DANCING BUTTERFLY”, his second collection of haiku, published end 2022 in Japan. THE ROAD OF BEING, his last but one poetry book, was published 2023 in Albania, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, India, Holland, Pakistan and the VS. Publications are also foreseen in Portugal, Indonesia, Albania and India (Hindi). “POETIC REFLECTIONS”, his 17th poetry collection has been honoured with the Fuente Vaqueros (birthplace of LORCA) International Poetry Prize (best of 500 international submissions) and will be launched this year at the famous Granada International Poetry Festival and at Lorca’s birthplace.

Several famous artists made paintings and sculptures inspired by his poetry. Germain Droogenbroodt is yearly invited to give recitals and conferences at universities and at the most prestigious poetry festivals around the world. He received many of international poetry awards and was recommended for the Nobel prize of Literature 2017.

In Belgium: P.G. Buckinx Prijs with his poetry collection “Conversation with the Hereafter”

In Egypt “Doctor honoris causa”, as poet and promoter of international poetry, 1990

In Spain: Premio de Poesía Juan Alcaide, with his poetry book “In the Stream of Time,

Meditations in the Himalayas”

In Mongolia: the “Pegasus Prize” by the Mongolian Academy of Cultura and Poetry

In Macedonia: Best Poem of the Festival” at the International Poetry Festival in Tetovo

In Lebanon: Laureate of the Naji Naaman’s Literary Prizes, 2013

En Bangladesh: the Kathak Literary Prize 2015.

In Romania: “The Grand Prix Mihai Eminescu Prize” for his poetry and the Poesía Mihai Eminescu 2015 + 2017 medal as promoter of international poetry.

In China: “Internationally best poetry translator” by the International Translation and Research Centre

In Japan: the JUNPA Legend Award (2017)

In Italy; Premio Speziale Don Luigi di Liegro at the Museum of the Capitol in Rome, 2017

In France: Prix de Poésie EASAL (European Academy of Sciences Arts and Literature) 2018

In China: Certificate of Honor for his paper “The Road” at the 3rd YiJing Summit Forum in Wuxi, 5th June 2018

In Greece: At the Chalkida International Poetry Meeting in April 2019,

the “Homer”, European Medal of Poetry and Art

In the USA: Cross-Cultural Communications 50th Anniversary Award, 2020

In Italy: Premio Internazionale di Poesía I colori dell’Anima, San Remo 2020

In India: the Sahitto International Award for Literature 2021

In Italy: Best Foreign Author, Premio Ossi di Seppia 2022

In Australia: Outstanding Achievement Award”, 2022 Sydney Harmony and Poetry Festival

In Italy: Premio Speziale “I.P.A. Poesia dei Popoli, Triuggio, 2023.

In Italy: “Summer Award Ossi di Seppia”, best Foreign Author, Section B of poems, 2023.

In Italy: “Premio SENECA 2023”, Accademia delleArti e delle Scienze filosofiche, 2023

In Rumania: Médaille “Mihai Eminescu” and “Ambassadeur Culturel”, Académie Internationale “Mihai Eminescu, Craiova, 2023

In Spain: Premio Internacional Fuente Vaqueros (birthplace of Lorca), 2023

In Italy: SENECA International Poetry Prize, 2023

Everything that ever lived

is sooner or later erased by time.

What remains

is the beauty on earth

which man created before:

beautiful constructions, sculptures,

words and music.

But what will remain of us

– for those who come after us –

as a trace?

What else

but tasteless constructions,

pollution of water and air,

the greed of the now.

***

All night long

it has rained continuously

and it just won’t stop.

Yesterday was still sunny and warm

and the birds whistled happily, not knowing

that a thunderstorm was forecasted.

I wonder

where they now are staying

and how they survive

like those emigrants

who fled their country.

Afghanistan, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Africa…

It rains

it rains on earth

it rains tears of sadness

for so much brutal violence

for so much senseless suffering

for so much inhumanity

committed by man.

***

Not yet closed

but wide-eyed

and full of horror

the eyes

pursed the lips

because time was too short

for a farewell greeting

for a last prayer.

(POEMS FROM “THE ROAD OF BEING”)