Recently graduated Bob ter Haar new city poet

He is to graduate from his master’s on 1 February but has no intention of leaving Wageningen just yet. New city poet Bob ter Haar will write at least five poems per year in the coming three years on the city, ecological farming and all manner of other things he cares about. Resource interviewed him over coffee at the typically Wageningen Columbus café.

Ter Haar was selected as the new city poet by a jury of five on 25 January, out of a total of eleven candidates, with his poem on the Wageningen flood plains. He decided spontaneously to join the competition (‘I saw the poster just a few days before the deadline’), but Ter Haar has been writing poetry since he was fourteen.

Nederhop

His love for poetry was inspired by hip-hop. ‘It started in elementary school with Eminem’, Ter Haar says. ‘I had no idea what he was saying, but I was fascinated by how it sounded. Later, I discovered Dutch hip hop: Jiggy Djé, Winne, Osdorp Posse, and so forth.’

Rhyme and rhythm come first in Ter Haar’s poetry. ‘To me, rhyme is part of a language and provides the poem’s story with direction. Sometimes, a poem emerges just like that. Sometimes, I have words in my head and have to puzzle it out. Playing instrumental hip hop helps me write in that rhythm.’ There is a fair chance that the new city poet will combine poetry and music. ‘I play a little piano and guitar, but I would really love to collaborate with artists from Wageningen.’

Agro-forestry

Ter Haar will receive his master’s degree in Resilient Farming and Food Systems this week. During his studies, he specialised in successional agro-forestry, a form of agriculture in which the natural succession of species is used to improve conditions for crops, shrubbery and trees. He would like to develop this form of agriculture in the Netherlands and is looking for a suitable position. Agriculture will certainly be a recurring theme in his poems, as will the nature surrounding Wageningen.

The next public appearance of the city poet is to take place on Wednesday evening, 31 January, during the Lijntje Poëzie in Thuis. The performance with the largest crowd this year is to take place during the Liberation Festival on 5 May.

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