The Goal is White
‘The Goal is White’ brings the complete poetic oeuvre of Mark Insingel together for the first time, making plain its coherence and development. From the early, more traditional collections, published under his own name, Mark Donckers, to his later, decidedly quirky work under the pseudonym Insingel, a poetics unfolds that is resolutely committed to form, abstraction and linguistic exploration. Circularity, repetition and variation are at its core, as are the interaction between poetry and prose and the dismantling of ingrained patterns of language.
‘A book that goes right to the heart of the experience of reading and of being.’ – De Morgen
‘At his best moments, Insingel writes fundamental, life-or-death poetry’ – Ons Erfdeel
In minimalist and highly precise phrasing, Insingel writes poems that are both witty and haunting, critical of human relationships and social assumptions. His work is closely aligned with the international avant-garde and the tradition of concrete and visual poetry, with explicit attention paid to the page and to the materiality of language. This formal stringency is not an end in itself but a means of penetrating to the essence of existence, communication and identity. The meticulous editing, the illuminating afterword and the carefully considered design make ‘The Goal is White’ an essential overview of a unique and influential oeuvre.
