"If the present European institutions cannot manage to inspire, charm, stir or touch the people, or if necessary anger them, then we shall have to do it. Europe is currently stumbling from one crisis to another, is floating somewhere high above the heads of its citizens, and at certain times suffers from arrogance and hypocrisy, at others from confusion and anxiety.
In this situation, we would like to reflect on who and what Europe might be. We wonder which past we should recall and of what future we can still dream. How proud we are, and how aorrowful we can still be."
This is the background for The European Constitution in Verse, as expressed by the artistic coordinators Peter Vermeersch and David van Reybrouck. After failing to decide on a political constitution, Europe got its poetic Constitution in Verse on Friday 27 March 2009. The Brussels Poetry Collective - Geert van Istendael, Laurence Vielle, Manza, Xavier Queipo, Peter Vermeersch and David Van Reybrouck - who kicked off the project in January were joined by more than 40 other poets in writing the constitution. The Brussels collective, a number of leading poets such as Antonio Gamoneda (Spain), Franzobel (Austria), Gerrit Komrij (Netherlands) and Mircea Dinescu (Romania) and the 70-strong PolyFolies choir, and several guest writers presented a long poem in which European enthusiasm is tempered by a critical attitude, the grand gesture rubs up against poetic intimacy, and seriousness is rhymed with satire. Themes as the hospitality and borders of Europe were very eminently present in the text. On this evening the complete text of the European Constitution in Verse was presented in three publications: in Dutch, French and English.
Here we bring you the contributions to the Constitution that were authored by former and present ICORN Guest Writers.
