Die paringspel van polariteite

In Intieme afwesige (“Intimate absence”, 2009), the Afrikaans poet Cas Vos gives shape to absence in quite an exceptional way. Absence as loss finds its expression through the two icons of love from the Middle Ages, Abelard and Heloise. In this, his fifth collection of poetry, Vos interprets the sadness and pain of these two exiles afresh. The voice given to their son, Astralabe, is a highlight of the volume. Intieme afwesige is an absorbing and well-structured collection in which most of the poems are oriented towards the polarities of loss and intimacy.