Abstract

‘By Martena State’: unearthing the manor and garden in the poem by Baukje Wytsma andrys onsman Introduction troch triljend gers. Through waving grass. Wy wurde wekker, We wake and rise, The poem was first published in Wytsma’s second volume of poetry It Blau fan ús woartels sûge Our roots draw de Hortinsje [The Blue of Hydrangeas]. All of Wytsma’s poetry is written in nije libbenssoppen New draughts of life Frisian. The volume garnered little in the way of serious critique or review. út de ierde, wy libje. From the soil, we live. Most of the criticism dismissed the poems as superficial and romantic, lacking Efter de beammen Beyond the trees in the neo-deconstructionist grit that prevailed in most Dutch literature at the driuwe einleaze Endless clouds time. More than thirty years later, her work has been re-appraised and elevated wolkenloften oer Drift over to be considered to be among the best contemporary Frisian poetry, regardless de lege greiden. The empty meadows. of the fact that her style and subject matter have remained quite constant throughout her continuing development. My translation follows the original quite closely. As well as matching meaning, word choices were made according to the rhythms, sounds