Born in The Hague in 1929, Remco Campert is part of the radical - and influential - group of Dutch poets who came to prominence in the 1950s, although this is hisfirst collection to appear in English. Influenced by jazz, Campert's dry, almost dead-pan voice could be difficult to convey in English but Donald Gardner's versions capture both the lightness and the underlying intensity of the originals: 'Doors are open,' as 'House in Antwerp' wryly observes, 'that will never close again'.