Arjan Hut (Drachten, 1976) was officially appointed as the new Poet of Fryslân by deputy Eke Folkerts today at the Explore the North festival in Leeuwarden. The appointment is for two years. Arjan Hut is the fourth Poet Fan of Fryslân and the successor to Sigrid Kingma.

Poet of Fryslân Arjan Hut: “My idea was to think about it some more, but before I knew it I said: ‘Yes, yes, of course!’ ‘It would be nice if I could provide a counterbalance in the time of oracles, interpreters and answers, and represent a space where there is a place for doubt. A successful poem is composed in such a way that everyone sees something different in it. There is not one truth, one correct meaning or one interpretation. Besides that: less WiFi, more poetry!”

As a Poet of Fryslân, Arjan Hut will act as poetic ambassador of Fryslân for the next two years. He writes six to ten poems a year, inspired by striking and current affairs in the province. An advisory committee, consisting of Sigrid Kingma, Céline Wierda and Ammerins Moss-de Boer (chairman), has nominated the new Poet of Fryslân to the Provincial Executive.

The ‘Dichter fan Fryslân’ project is an initiative of the province of Fryslân and is implemented by Boeken fan Fryslân. With this project, the province wants to draw attention to the art form of poetry from a broader audience.