Poetik walk: on the roads of the Appia

Michaël Vandebril (1972) is a Dutch-speaking poet and literary organizer. He initiated the city poet laureate position in Antwerp and was a driving force behind the Belgian project ‘Dichter des Vaderlands,’ now known as ‘Dichter*es van België.’ Michaël quietly builds a small but refined body of poetry, including the award-winning collection Het vertrek van Maeterlinck and Op de weg van Appia, a long travel poem tracing the queen of roads from Rome to the heel of Italy. The latter collection was recently published in French by Abrapalabra, featuring illustrations by Bart Pluym and translated by Jan H. Mysjkin. Together with allies, he founded the one and only Party for Poetry, the Poetry Brothel, and the magical writer-in-residence Huis van de Dichter in Watou. In this small border village, he has also curated the poetry program multiple times for the annual Kunstenfestival Watou.