Lieke Marsman
Lieke Marsman (1990-2026) was one of the leading young talents in Dutch literature. Her unique style combines prose, poetry and essay genres.
After her acclaimed debut poetry collection in 2010, she was considered a prodigy by many. Her first novel, The Opposite of a Human Being, published in 2017, was nominated for the ECI Literature Prize. It is an engaged, hybrid book in which essay and poetry are interwoven to highlight the problems of climate change. From 2021 till 2023 she was Dutch Poet Laureate Dichter der Nederlanden. Among other languages, her work was translated into French, Spanish and English. On another planet they can save me (2025) was recently published in English. In 2025, Marsman received the Constantijn Huygens Prize for her life's work.
More Lieke Marsman
The Following Scan Will Last Five Minutes
In 'The Following Scan Will Last Five Minutes' Lieke Marsman investigates through ten poems and an essay how a sick body relates to a sick world. ‘My little cancer book’ Marsman called it on Twitter.
The Opposite of a Person
One of the most persistent criticisms of contemporary writers, particularly the latest generation, is also the most inaccurate: that they are a bunch of navel-gazers. True, the work of young authors is often deeply rooted in personal experience, but they are equally concerned with exploring how the individual relates to the complexity of the modern world. The most fascinating book on this very subject has been published: the bold and original debut by celebrated poet Lieke Marsman.
On Another Planet They Can Save Me
A moving examination of living with illness, death and hope