Double Dutch magazine (regular) issue nr. 2 is live!

Feb 28

Written By Benne van der Velde

Whoot! Our March 2026 issue is live! Third Double Dutch magazine issue in total so far :) With the following:

COVER ART: Rotterdamse Haven (Rotterdam Harbour), by the Dutch artist Martin Groen!

POETRY by

The Sermon, by Lucy Olsman

The movie, by Vita M Quintanilla (pen name Silvia Martin)

Tulip Autopsy, by David Anson Lee

Ovid seen wearing Burberry, by Carol Shillibeer

Ovid spotted leaving Shakespeare, by Carol Shillibeer

Ovid seen with Young Missy, by Carol Shillibeer

My brother’s pet, by Gary Grossman

A Sonnet for Mr spaghetti-Head, by Megan Cartwright

K Wants to Know What Dolly Means, by Rene Mullen

(VISUAL) ART by

Silhouette, by Rachel Turney

SATTVA, by Frans de Winter

Jericho, by Anselm Kiefer (and field tripped by Sander, Jasper and Frans)

Still Startled From A Dream, by Bill Wolak

Untitled, by Josiane Kouagheu

Eve III, by Gary Grossman

Projections, story by Patrick McEvoy and art by Randy Valiente

Patterned Acts of Violence, by Michael P Farmer

DUTCH TREAT in the flavors of

Haphazardly love (Te hooi en te gras), by Rob Chrispijn and translated by Benne van der Velde

Junkie, by André Manuel (+ his band Krang) and translated by Benne van der Velde

Hebban olla vogala, the oldest known poem in Old Dutch

You, now! (U, nu!), by Joost van den Vondel

When it happens to you (Als het je overkomt), by Lucas Rijneveld and translated by Vivien D. Glass

MUSIC by

Dutch Saint Nicholas Holiday songs medley featuring black(face) Pete

Join ICE, by Jesse Welles

Man in the mirror, by Michael Jackson

Ave Maria, by last recorded castrato Alessandro Moreschi

Why Do You Touch Me?, by Matt Dennison

War (SNL 1992), by Sinéad O'Connor

Don’t do anything illegal, by Charles Manson

The Rite Of Spring, by Igor Stravinsky (choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky)

These are the days of our lives, by Queen

4’33, by John Cage (performed by both The Berliner Philharmoniker & Death Metal band Dead Territory)

Thank you so much to our contributors! Want to submit for a future issue? Right here please! 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