Festival in the open air of Willemstad, Netherlands 1996International visitors 
 

Joz Knoop (30th December 1957, Rotterdam Overschie) developed the jozzonet (mirror verse) in 1990, which he elaborates on in the years following. The results of this research may be found in a trilogy, of which he completed the final part in the autumn of 1997. In 1993 he won the Gorinchem performance contest and in 1994 the Rotterdam Award. The poem 'For Sevim' is a first step in getting away from the jozzonet. This poem wins him the 1997 Dunya Poetry Prize. In 1998 his 3rd volume of jozzonets appeared under the title Limit Reaching Zero (Limiet nadert nul), in which a large, pungent flower Amorphophallus Titanum takes centre stage. Everything Turns (Alles draait) is the first product of Jozoon productions, his very own publishing house. In May 2000 he was also chosen as poet of the year by the audience of the Iamb Foundation (Stichting Jambe) in Delft. In the years after 2000 he concentrates on performance, which resulted in winning the poetryslam in Amersfoort. In march of last year he published his poem in 7 parts with the title of "Landschap" (Landscape) in a new poetry journal called BARKING DOGS (www.barkingdogs.biz) and in july in the same journal “Voor een vrouw die er staat” (For a striking woman) These poems were published in dutch and translated in english by Corentine H.M. Steijger. 

In these days I am working with the Keith Brighouse (http://www.keithbrighouse.co.uk/ ) on Emblemata.

Emblemata is an art form that was popular in Holland in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is an attempt to bring together language and imagery in a homogeneous whole. Emblemata were made up of an image, poem and a motto and usually had religious or moral content. However, our ambition is revitalize the form with contemporary subject matter. 
 

Jozzonets: 
 

Day off

Original: Snipperdag

Translation from the Dutch jozzonet 
 

I don’t have much to do today.

Life passes lazy soft.

Hours are drinking from daylight

under a sky of glass.

Clouds are passing peacefully slow

above the people in hurry.

No one can make me worry.

Today I move in speed of clouds.

No one can make me worry

about the people in hurry.

Clouds are passing peacefully slow

under a sky of glass.

Hours are drinking from daylight.

Life passes lazy soft.

I don’t have much to do today. 
 


Empty day

Inspired on music by Bloemfontein

www.bloemfontein.ca 
 

The longer now

on the clock of

immaculate patience

must be a moment of

spun out silence

caused by

this sea of minutes.

This day off

seems endless.

This day off

this sea of minutes.

caused by

spun out silence

must be a moment of

immaculate patience

on the clock of

the longer now. 
 


A simple poem, based on a drawing by Ramon van der Rassel aka Monk 
 

Ghostfish 
 

In dark water

full of poison

Ghostfish

swims alone 
 

life is now

impossible

here in this

deadly zone 
 

there is no fish

to be eaten

Ghostfish needs

no food 
 

there is no fish

that he needs

his loneliness

feels good 
 


Also visit my MySpace: Myspace van Joz

2005