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🇧🇪 Belgium /Culture & Society

Bertem's village poet maps out poetry walks

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Bertem's village poet, Winke Wiers, has created two poetry walks featuring poems by local residents.
  • Visitors can scan QR codes along the 5km nature walk or 2.5km village walk to listen to or read the poems, often read by the authors themselves.
  • The initiative aims to connect poetry with specific locations, with poems set to be available starting September 20.

Bertem's village poet, Winke Wiers, has launched an innovative initiative to bring poetry closer to the community. Alongside other local poets, Wiers has designed two distinct walking routes: a 5km nature trail and a 2.5km village tour.

You lock up the village.

— A toddlerDescribing the village poet's role.

Along these paths, participants can engage with poetry through QR codes. Scanning these codes with a smartphone reveals poems written by residents, often read by the poets themselves. The goal is to create a harmonious connection between the literary works and their physical surroundings.

Wiers, who has served as Bertem's village poet since 2024, shared an anecdote about a child who misunderstood her role, thinking she "locked up the village" with her poems. This playful misunderstanding highlights the unique way poetry can interact with and define a community's identity.

This is my last year as village poet and I absolutely wanted to map out a poetry walk. But I also wanted to include poems from other villagers.

— Winke WiersExplaining her motivation for the poetry walks.

As this is her final year in the role, Wiers wanted to leave a lasting legacy. The poetry walks, featuring contributions from various villagers including a resident of a local care home, are set to officially open on September 20, offering a new way to experience Bertem through verse.

We have tried to make the poems connect with each place. Most are read by the person who wrote them.

— Winke WiersDescribing the integration of poems with their locations.
About this summary

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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