Perfect

Kees Stipe

Kees Stip is the point poet par excellence. Enthusiast and connoisseur Ivo de Wijs, assisted by Jaap Bakker, made a wide selection from his thousands of poems. This collection of Punctual features many top quality verses that have not previously been published in book form. Kees Stip (1913–2001) studied classical literature and made his debut in hiding in 1943 with 'Dieuwertje Diekema', a parody of 'Mária Lécina' by JWF Werumeus Buning, which was distributed anonymously and illegally. It was the start of a great career as a point poet, with countless virtuoso short poems that often featured animals and place names. After the war he worked for de Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad, among others, and was editor of the Polygoonjournaal. In addition, Stip was active as a screenwriter of films for the Government Information Service and wrote texts for radio and advertising. In 1951 he started writing nonsensical animal verses for de Volkskrant under the pseudonym Trijntje Fop, borrowed from Multatuli. These poems were brought together in The Zoological Poetry Exercises of Trijntje Fop (1955). In the decades that followed, Stip published eight more such collections. He also wrote quite a few socially critical sonnets, including a collection in A child with frog legs (1987). His collected poems were released in 1993 under the title Laughing in a Lion.