Boem!

For its autumn of art, the Stadtmuseum Berlin is putting on an exhibition at the reopened Museum Ephraim-Palais focusing on the renowned avantgarde poet from Antwerp (Belgium) who spent the revolutionary years after the First World War in exile in Berlin.

Flemish poet Paul van Ostaijen (1896–1928) lived in Berlin from October 1918 to May 1921. Here, he witnessed revolutionary events, was active in the expressionist and dadaist art scene and wrote several major works. Against the backdrop of the war and the failed socialist revolution, he developed completely new forms of poetry and typography. With his collection of poems Bezette Stad (Occupied City), Van Ostaijen helped lay the foundations for modern Dutch-language literature. Today, he is considered one of the most important poets in the Dutch-language cultural landscape.