Micha Hamel

(Amsterdam, 1970) is a poet, director and composer. He studied at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and studied philosophy for a year in Amsterdam. In 2004 he made his debut as a poet with Alle enen opgeteld (All the ones added up). In his poetry Hamel always takes on a great number of topics. In Nu je het vraagt (Now that you ask; 2010) he alternated striking reminiscences of youth with melancholic reflections. In Bewegend doel (moving target; 2013) he wrote about depression, an Egyptian goddess, the word sultry and the Italian national character. The poet continuously changes roles. He is an artist, a bourgeois, a popstar, a judge and an actor, investigating how these characters transform him. Almost casually he writes about the friction between love, lust, art and trivialities. Hamel also wrote music for among others the Schönberg Ensemble. In addition he was director of the Noord-Hollands Philharmonisch Orkest and the RAI orchestra in Turin. At the festival Hamel is recipient of the Jan Campert Prize for his fourth collection of poetry Bewegend doel.