Rare first and posthumous edition of Corsen’s poetry, containing 80 poems in Spanish and three in Papiamento, along with a three-page introduction by Benjamin A. Jesserun, as well as Dutch and English translations of Atardi.
 
Joseph Sickman (Jo) Corsen (1853–1911), a poet, musician, and composer from Curaçao, is celebrated as the “Father of Papiamento Poetry”. Corsen also composed waltzes, led several orchestras and served as the organist for the Jewish community, showcasing his multifaceted talents.
 
While he primarily wrote in Spanish—many works appeared in Notas y Letras—his legacy in the Dutch Antilles rests on his contributions to Papiamento literature. This volume brings together almost all of his poems, including three poems in Papiamento: Ata Nubia!, Roeman di Caridad, and of course Atardi, the pinnacle of Corsen’s work and the most iconic poem in the literary history of the Dutch Antilles.
 
First published on 27 September 1905 in La Cruz, Atardi captures the melancholic beauty of twilight. As Cola Debrot wrote, “He describes the eerie atmosphere of twilight in a way that would undoubtedly have earned the approval of even the most somber existentialist”. The present book includes a Dutch translation of the poem by P.J. Poiesz and an English translation by G. Pinedo.