Double Dutch magazine (regular) issue nr. 3 is out!

May 1

Written By Benne van der Velde

Whoot! Double Dutch magazine issue nr. 3 has officially gone live! Our May 2026 volume is another utter page turner and filled with, for example,

DUTCH (& FLEMISH!) TREATS the likes of

Ocean view (Uitzicht op zee), by Rob Chrispijn and translated by Benne van der Velde

Let me travel with you (Laat me met je meegaan), by Wim de Craene and translated by Benne van der Velde

Vanden Lande van Oversee (First strophe), by Jacob van Maerlant and translated by MAZ

Mi Skin, by Dean Bowen and translated by… Dean Bowen!

Plicht (Duty), by Alexis de Roode and translated by Donald Gardner

KOE KUT PORTEMONNEE…, by Sander Groen and translated by Krukowski Krukowski

raster genius POETRY such as

Liminal Space, by Sheridan Mark Walter

We were supposed to see the remake of Nosferato but…, by Juleigh Howard-Hobson

The Chirping Smoke Alarm, by Trinity Saldana

Golden Hour, by Alexandra Price

Some Beautiful Men…, by Stephen Mead

The sandwich and the sidewalk, by Jonathan Sijl

Improvising, by Philip G Davison

The Weariness of the Second Law, by Wing Yu Chan

Morning Patrol, by Scott William Westcott

The problem with edibles, by Sharon Hoffman

stunning (VISUAL) ART in the flavors of

Gegrond/Wall, by Frans de Winter

Girl with a pearl earring, by Johannes Vermeer (and field tripped by Benne and his wife)

‘Tronie’ of an old man, by Rembrandt (ALSO field tripped that day!)

Giddy, by Edward Michael Supranowicz

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, by Vincent Van Gogh (with a poem by Lucy Olsman)

Untitled, by Joris van Os

Untitled statue, by Banksy

and these links to MUSIC(videos)

The Hippies Were Right, by Tim (The Hitch-hiking poet) O’Connor‍ ‍

On the corner (the whole album), by Miles Davis

Light my fire, by The Doors

Girl you know it’s - Girl you know it’s - Girl you know it’s - (spoiler: not true), by Millie Vanillie

Miserere, by Gregorio Allegri

This is America, by Childish Gambino

Dear God, by XTC

Plantation slave songs remembered: Come butter Come (by Irene Williams) & All the way round the ring go-round (by Hattie Garce)

Because I got high, by Afroman

Snoop Frogg (Kermit sings “Gin & Juice”), by There I ruined It

Please enjoy :) We sure did putting it together. Thanks so, so much to our contributors! Click here for our equally impressive previous issues? The submission window for our July 2026 issue is still open! Cheers.

Back

Benne van der Velde

After thoroughly enjoying the Dutch slam poetry scene in the early and mid 2000s (with wins in 7 cities and eventually a place in the Nationals of 2012) and performances at the Lowlands-, Uitmarkt- and Parade festivals a/o, Benne successfully made the transition from the stage to paper by signing his first publishing deal in 2005. Since then 4 publishing houses (kleine Uil, Douane, Nadorst and Stanza) released volumes of his poetry. For a 5th (Passage) he co-edited an anthology of satirical/pamphlet poetry with fellow poets Daniel Dee and Alexis de Roode.

As a member of the artist movement ‘Het Ongeboren Idee’ he helped to organize (and was part of/presented) cultural lo-fi festivals, exhibitions, making a movie, monthly poetry stages in his hometown of Vlaardingen (Poezie in De Steeg), Rotterdam (De Poetsclub) and Nijmegen (Late Letteren Live) + a talent show for bands.

In 2002 and 2003 he studied ‘writing for performance’ at the vocational university of the Arts in the city of Utrecht (HKU) and as a result saw 3 of his theater plays make it to a stage. Writer Hiekelien van den Herik and he co-wrote a knight spectacle play complete with real choreographed sword fights, men in heavy plate armor and more great stuff like that. Theater-/enactment group Ridderspoor performed said play in 2004 and 2005 at Het Archeon, during De Kasteeldagen and at an Elfia-fantasy fair. He also gave numerous poetry and rap workshops at schools and other institutions. 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 and thrice alongside the R.J.S.O (The Rotterdam Youth Symphony Orchestra).

Benne has been an editor for several literary magazines (Krakatau, Renaissance and Op Ruwe Planken), at one time he and his wife owned a secondhand bookstore, he’s been the official poet laureate for his hometown of Vlaardingen and released his first and only Dutch rap-EP in 2011. In 2012 he rapped his way into the finals of Art Rocks. An EP with songs in English followed in 2021. A year later he started translating Dutch musical and lyrical classics from Dutch into English, and vice versa. Some of his short sci-fi and fantasy stories have found their way to medium related websites, magazines and anthology’s.

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 translations have been published in Bebarbar, Hare’s paw, Festivalforpoetry, Punt Volat, The Dewdrop, The Dillydoun Review and Months to Years a/o.

In everyday (some claim real) life he worked as an industrial tank cleaner, in pest control, on a garbage truck, driving a forklift, in a chemical waste facility, on a Ferry and 10 years as a bartender in a cannabis bar. At the time of writing this resume he can be found at home or in the hospital battling throat cancer. 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.

www.linkedin.com/in/benne-van-der-velde-8b17a7296

The poet/lyricist and author Rob Chrispijn: ‘Benne writes sentences that stick; clean, dark and intense. This way a poem lasts!’

The poet Philip Hoorne on the website Poetry rapport: ‘There’s a genius hiding in Benne van der Velde, those are the Good Tidings of today. Amen.’

https://www.doubledutchmagazine.com