Zeppelin Poetry Festival 2026

Zeppelin Poëziefestival 2026 Following a very successful first edition, the Zeppelin Poëziefestival is taking flight again this year. In the footsteps of neighbor Paul van Ostaijen, Wijkvereniging Klein Antwerpen, the Paul van Ostaijengenootschap, ADVN, and Cultuur 2018 invite this colorful collection of prominent poets from Flanders and the Netherlands who cast their special gaze on our remarkable existence. Op Open Monumentendag – Sunday, September 13 – will feature Maud Vanhauwaert, Charles Ducal, Kreek Daey Ouwens, Peter Holvoet-Hanssen, and Sarah De Koning, Lisette Ma Neza in the Juffertuin of the ADVN (Lange Leemstraat 26) and in the Harmonie (Harmoniepark 1). Naturally, local residents and wandering guests will once again get the chance to compete for a spot on the stage by participating in the Zeppelin Poëzieprijs. Come sniff poetry, visit the book market, and enjoy musical performances by Jacoba Clara and the Ben Sluijs/Brice Soniano Duo. Zeppelin Poëzieprijs Neem take part in the Zeppelin Poëzieprijs. Let yourself be inspired by the exciting poetry of Paul van Ostaijen and bombard the city with your poem. For example, have you always wanted to write a poem in the shape of a zeppelin? Unfortunately, that has already been done, but you'll surely think of something else! Or do you prefer to imagine your city with a "Boom" and a "Kettledrum beat"? Do it! Are you the new Paul van Ostaijen? Send your poem before August 31 to: zotpolleken@gmail.com. If your poem is among the finest entries, you will get to recite it on the big stage and win a nice prize. Moreover, your poem will be given a prominent place in the Juffertuin. Open to trial poets and natural talents (actually everyone). Plea for the Poëzie Wat is poetry? And also: why poetry? In his Gebruiksaanwijzing der lyriek (1926), Paul van Ostaijen tried to find an answer to these pressing questions. He thus laid the foundation for modern Dutch-language poetry. Fifty years later, poet-lawyer Eddy Van Vliet launched Poëzie, een pleidooi, an engaging defense of poetic language which in his eyes could erect a dam against the professional and technical jargon that daily overwhelms us. In the footsteps of these defenses of poetry, we ask former Poet Laureate of the Vaderlands Els Moors to take stock half a century later. How is poetry doing today? What is poetry in these confusing times? What does it want, or what should it want? Moors’ Plea for the Poetry premieres at the Zeppelin Poëziefestival. Zeppelin Poëziefestival is an organization of Wijkvereniging Klein Antwerpen, ADVN, Cultuur 2018, and the Paul van Ostaijengenootschap. With the support of Stad Antwerpen and Nationale Loterij.