Benne van der Velde is a bad playwright, former rapper, writer, average singer, accomplished Dutch poet and more. Always needing more. After keeping a journal in the form of a dialogue rather obsessively for years (1998-2001) and thoroughly enjoying the Dutch slam poetry scene in the early and mid 2000s (wins in 7 cities & eventually a place in the Nationals of 2012) + performances at the Lowlands- and Parade festivals a/o, Benne successfully made the official transition from the stage to paper by signing his first publishing deal in 2005. Here’s a list of his publications so far.

2 years of studying 'Writing for Performance' at the vocational university of Utrecht (HKU) in 2002 and 2003 resulted in his second education related expulsion. As a member of the art collective Het Ongeboren Idee he helped to organize/present monthly poetry events in his hometown of Vlaardingen (Poezie in De Steeg), Rotterdam (De Poetsclub) and Nijmegen (Late Letteren Live). There were a lot of collabs too, for example voice-over work for a rock opera, a monumental art project for which he partnered up with the artist Erwin Adema(R.I.P.) and thrice alongside the R.J.S.O. (The Rotterdam Youth Symphony Orchestra). Some of his short sci-fi and fantasy stories have found their way to medium related websites, idem magazines and anthologies.

In everyday (some claim real) life he (1974) worked as an industrial tank cleaner, driving forklift trucks, in pest control, on a garbage truck, at a chemical waste disposal facility, on a Ferry and 10 years as a bartender/dealer in a Dutch coffeeshop. He’s been off the herb since 2008, has a wife, 2 dogs, mild anxiety issues and likes to read every sci-fi and fantasy classic he can find.

According to the poet himself rewriting his own poetry, lyrics and prose in English somehow feels like the next logical step in his career, a way to open up to the world at large. Which is both exhilarating and terrifying. So far several of these re-writes/translations have been published in Passages in time (ed. XXVIII), Bebarbar,Hare’s paw,Dissident Voice, Festivalforpoetry,Punt Volat,The Dewdrop,Double Dutch magazine (duh), The Dillydoun Review and Months to Yearsa/o. He’s been an editor for three Dutch literary magazines (Krakatau, Op ruwe Planken and Renaissance) in the past, and started Double Dutch magazine as something to hold on to during a personal struggle in 2025, giving himself way too much to do & is loving every second of it.