We Inhabit the City of Language. City Poetry and Instability

Abstract

Contemporary city poet laureates find themselves in a complex relationship to their poetic production. On the one hand, they are autonomous and free; on the other, they are officially appointed and seem to be the mouthpiece of the city. This sometimes leads to discussions on the societal role of city poet laureates and on the question in whose name they speak. After a brief account of some contemporary discussions arising from city poetry in Antwerp, I will explain the term ‘voice’ as conceptualised by Translation Studies scholar Theo Hermans. I will then elaborate on Maud Vanhauwaert’s poetry, for whom temporality, instability and uncertainty are crucial to her poetic project, as are interaction and polyphony. She links this polyphony with multilingualism and translation, as is shown in my discussion of her poetic project “Tower of Babel”. For Vanhauwaert, instability involves letting other voices (and other languages) than just her own speak. In “Tower of Babel”, she uses translation and multilingualism as a way of allowing voices other than her own to be heard.