Thomas Möhlmann

(1975) in his poetry shows a fascination for the unknown and the impalpable. The title of his debut De vloeibare jongen (The liquid boy; 2005) is revealing in that respect. Nothing is what it seems, characters melt into one another, a boy dissolves into water and washes away with the river. In his second volume Kranen open (Taps open; 2009) too, Möhlmann allows his fantasy to run free. Strikingly, turns of phrase or motives of one poem sometimes literally return in another. Möhlmann studied Dutch language and literature, organised readings in the literary theatre Perdu and was co-founder of the poetry magazine Zanzibar and the literature site www.literairnedeland.nl. Right now he works with the Dutch Literature Fund as a policy advisor for poetry and is on the board of the poetry magazine Awater. Möhlmann edited several volumes with work by other poets, most notably Dit zijn de daden waar ik mens voor was – De mooiste gedichten van Martinus Nijhoff (These are the deeds I was a human being for – the most beautiful poems of Martinus Nijhoff; 2008). In 2007 the anthology Geboorte in meer dan 50 gedichten (Birth in more than 50 poems) appeared with Uitgeverij Van Gennep.