The second Reflections contribution is from Dean Bowen: the poem DON’T LET THEM BURN (A Dark Lullaby for Black Babies in Burning Cities).

Dean Bowen (1984) is a Dutch poet, performer and psychonaut. He deals with the dynamics of the composite identity and how it relates to a political and social position. His debut novel Bokman is lyrical, passionate and furious; a personal quest that reveals universal patterns and allows many voices to speak. In magnificently unravelling his own grief and grievances that take place on different continents, he stirs up forgotten histories and dissects the structures that keep us politically oppressed. How as an individual do you survive among all these mechanisms?

Dean Bowen has published on the online platforms Samplekanon and Hard//Hoofd and in magazines such as nY and Tirade, Revisor and de Gids. His powerful delivery has made him a popular performer on many spoken word stages both at home in the Netherlands and in South Africa, the USA and Slovakia. Bowen won the first Van Dale SPOKEN Award in the poetry category and his Bokman debut novel was nominated for the C. Buddingh’ Prize.

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If you would like to receive the Reflections by post or email, please write to gdthyself@hetnieuweinstituut.nl, indicating your preference and including your address. The amount of physical letters is limited, so they will be sent on a first come, first served basis.

Recipients are invited to share their own reflections on paper, upload them to the web magazine and send them to others.