Chameleon | Nachtroer

Charlotte Van den Broeck was born in Turnhout, Belgium, in 1991. After studies in English and German, she took a Masters in Drama at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp. She has published two collections of poetry, Kameleon (2015), which was awarded the Herman De Coninck debut prize for poetry by a Flemish author, and Nachtroer (2017), which was nominated for VSB Poetry Prize 2018 and the Ida Gerhard Prize. These two volumes are combined in Chameleon | Nachtroer, translated from the Dutch by David Colmer (Bloodaxe Books, 2020). Her poetry has also been translated into German, Spanish, French, Serbian and Arabic. In 2016 she opened the Frankfurt Bookfair together with Dutch poet Arnon Grunberg. In 2017 she was one of that year’s Versopolis poets, performing at several European festivals including Ledbury in Britain. As well as publishing critically acclaimed collections she is renowned for her distinctive performances, which are differ from UK/US versions of spoken word as theatre pieces ‘searching for the speakability and experience of oral poetry’, now presented in English as well as Dutch.

This poetry parades like the chameleon in various appearances…in streaming language and unlikely, striking images.

• CHAMELEON I The Red Cross on the Treasure Map13 Bucharest14 Sisjön15 Örebro16 Växjö17 Japanese Pond18 Hvannadalshnúkur19 August21 Sampling22 Diagnosis23 Fish Bowl24 Gilles25 Flamingo26 The North Sea27 Charlotte Cake II Discovery Channel31 People Who Watch Wildlife Films to Better Understand Themselves32 Grand Jeté33 Whalespotting34 Satellite Photo35 Small Volcano36 Seraphic Light38 Tyrant39 Chameleon [I]40 Chameleon [II]41 Felidae [I]42 Felidae [II]43 Rorschach44 Astrology for Beginners45 Space Peel46 Instructions47 Lampyridae48 Expedition49 Archaeological Site50 Hunter/Gatherer52 Triceratops III Origin55 Specialist Poulterer 56 Bull’s Head58 Netezon Laundrette59 Ausflug/Auszug60 Winter Veg61 Council Flat62 Turtle Reflex63 Genealogy64 Fernweh NACHTROER Eight, ∞71 [VIII–I] Nachtroer81 Nachtroer83 Haematoma84 Drift86 Aquarium87 Blue90 Lethe91 Groceries Soft Drinks Spirits & Tobacco 94 The Age of Aquarius98 ——99 Thirst103 Section109 Fricative110 Hypostasis111 Slash and Burn116 White119 Topos120 There126 You’d Like to Build a Boat