This year, the BC Hooft Prize went to poet Astrid Lamb. According to the jury, she is “one of the most distinguished and generous poets of our time.”

The prestigious literature prize is awarded alternately for prose, poetry and essay writing. Last year the award went to essayist Tijs Goldschmidt and the previous year to writer Arnon Grünberg.

Lamb, 67, made his debut in 1997 with the poetry collection Rib She has since released twelve more collections. According to the jury, her works are “strikingly unconventional and polyphonic.”

According to the jury, interest in the impact of digitalization on the economy, climate and gender relations is particularly striking in Lamb’s work. In this way she “influenced the poetry of many young poets in the Dutch-speaking region.”

Lambe herself describes her poetry as active, contradictory, and lively. “I try to lure readers through very ordinary everyday things to really absorb this poetry and thus draw them into this poetic space.”

Winning the award feels like a “huge achievement,” the poet says. She says she usually gets enough appreciation, but she has to “fight a little” for her work.

She also reaches out to female authors who have already won the prize, such as Ida Gerhardt in 1979. “She still faces a lot of resistance from critics. It’s nice that these days it’s become normal that women are also being lifted up to such a stage.” “.