Commonly viewed as a revolutionary and propagandist Herman
Gorter (1864–1927) is often overlooked despite his lasting contribution
to Dutch poetry. This selection of thirty-one poems, translated by Paul
Vincent, focuses on Gorter’s experimental love and nature lyrics in
Poems of 1890, and the Introductionsets the poems in the context of his
earlier seminal work 'Mei' (May) as well as his often neglected
Socialist verse.

The lyrical expansiveness, consistent use of rhyme and
vivid imagery of the Dutch landscape that characterises 'Mei' evolves
into more fragmentary verse in Poems of 1890, and the joyful celebratory
tone of Gorter’s poetry increasingly co-exists with a
sense of isolation and introspection. This can be viewed in the context
of a rapidly changing political scene in Europe in the prelude to the
First World War and the Russian Revolution.
This is a valuable collection that revisits Gorter’s literary and
political legacy, and introduces English-speaking readers to a selection
of his most accessible and lyrical poems