Bert Broomberg

I studied English at the university of Utrecht in the early eighties. During my studies I started writing short stories and poetry, first in Dutch and later on also in English. After graduating, I ended up in i.t. for a year, but because I didn't like it, I switched to free-lance journalism. After a while, I got a second job in educaction. Within a couple of years of combining the two, I had to choose for either one of them, and I went for the security of teaching English. After 25 years in education, I found it time to move on, so I quit education, and I started my own copywriting company. I have never lost my love of purely creative writing, so I still write poetry and prose in two languages. When writing poetry I prefer to write light verse and satirical poetry. I think that poetry is the perfect vehicle for all kinds of social comments, especially now that people often don't take a lot of time to read. Unfortunately, in my own country poetry seems to have developed into an acquired taste, and it is often regarded as something elitist, which it obviously is not.

On the Booksie site I usually provide comments on almost everything I read, always trying to be helpful to the authors. I will indicate how I think something can be improved, but when I find something deplorably bad, I just don't provide any comment. I have been active on booksie for some years now, and I value the relaxed, respectful atmosphere on the site; rarely have I found vitriolic remarks being made. In a virtual world that's becoming increasingly loutish, I think that's a breath of fresh air.

I welcome comments on my own writing, and I will always answer them. I hope you will enjoy my writing.