Sacrificial Lamb
'Socially critical, tough, rhythmical and uncompromising poetry.' - Ooteoote
‘Sacrificial Lamb’ is an incisive experimental long poem in which the figure of the lamb becomes a multifaceted symbol of vulnerability, exploitation and complicity. The sacrificial lamb appears as a female figure who is both a victim of a neoliberal, capitalist system and an active participant in its mechanisms of visibility and consumption.
The collection is characterized by a rhythmical, compelling style and an accumulation of images in which bodies, economics and ecology bleed into one another. De Groen mixes references to pop culture (including Britney Spears) with critical theory and political reflection to create a layered, contemporary parable. At the same time, the poetry maintains a certain distance: it attempts not only to move readers but to make them reflect on the ways in which language and images shape our reality.
De Groen offers sharp social criticism, while also showing great formal ambition. ‘Sacrificial Lamb’ shows how individuals – and bodies – are shaped and exploited in a world that is simultaneously destructive and seductive.
'An intelligent and dauntless collection, both in its engagement and in its form.' – Jury Herman de Coninckprijs
