This article is based on this Dutch article of Martijn Benders
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Nicanor Parra is among the many poets featured in translation in my new collection, although the majority will consist of Trakl, Ritsos, and Roethke. Now that I have more time for this collection, I can add some fun design elements, such as that almost invisible slanted gray stripe acting as a line with the poet’s name on it.
A hallmark of a *dystopia* is that it forces you to do everything yourself because there’s no budget for literature, only to subsequently judge you precisely on that effort. For instance, Thies quit as the proofreader, and the person I hired for the job wasn’t particularly skilled. Add to that the constant rush because failing to publish could mean no income next year. All of that is then turned back on you as *your shortcomings* when someone spots an error, compounded by a group of jeering individuals who, when you measure it, make an average of 10 spelling mistakes per post on a website ironically titled *Neerlandistiek*.
Thankfully, technology has caught up: ChatGPT is an excellent editor that can seamlessly identify errors. Proofreading is tedious work, especially when subjected to intense pressure by an idiotic system based on the assumption that everyone has the kind of job that allows for spontaneous writing vacations. Don’t have such a dream job? Oh, they didn’t consider that. (That dream job doesn’t exist at all? Oh, they didn’t think about that either. And so the writing caste oscillates endlessly between subsidies and grants, costing far more money than it generates. Long live liberalism!)
If you live in a sea of time, producing flawless books isn’t an issue. But when you’re expected to write a substantial body of work on minimal resources while doing everything yourself (writing, editing, design, printing, etc.) under strict deadlines, the individuals smugly pointing out typos become people with a profound lack of empathy.
And if you’re tasked with working on 10 other authors alongside your own work? Then it really becomes a party. So no, *rien de rien*, I feel no guilt whatsoever.
As I wrote in *The Eternal Initiation Ritual*, all this is part of a political system in which I’m certainly not the only victim. In fact, everyone is a victim of this system until they grant it such degree of consent to misuse them that they themselves transform, almost automatically, into *something complicit*.
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The Service
In *The Service*, my upcoming novel, you’ll follow the intriguing story of a clandestine organization that protects poets from the all-seeing algorithmic regime Orpheus. This regime closely monitors poets, seeking out subversive expressions that could threaten the status quo.
The protagonist, Huub, a bureaucratic service employee, is tasked with shadowing Victor de Wilde, a charismatic poet. What begins as a routine assignment transforms into a complex moral struggle. As Huub becomes increasingly ensnared in the world of poetry, rebellion, and the magic of words, he discovers that poets aren’t merely creating with language—they’re crafting a reality untamed by algorithms or state power.
To protect the poets, the service employees devise an ingenious plan: their agents themselves will become the famous poets, allowing the real poets to create freely and remain hidden from scrutiny. But what was intended as a noble act of altruism reveals itself to be far more complicated. The poets fail to understand their protectors, and Huub is forced to confront his own loyalties and rethink the limits of his creativity.
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In short, I’m taking the time to write this novel. I’ve written a hundred pages so far, and the story is truly coming alive. I’m giving it the time it deserves.
Kind regards,
Martinus Benders