E D I T O R I A L
René Oskam
Book design & illustration
René Oskam creates poems in super normal Dutch. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they make you think, sometimes they are poignant and sometimes they are sweet. Either way, they give you a subtle swipe around the ears.
Since his first collection of poems; ‘Zwemles in een zee van Tijd’ (2016), I have been doing the design of the Netherlands' most successful contemporary poet. Meanwhile, there are four collections and two best of (Postcard) booklets:
Swimming Lessons in a Sea of Time (2016)
Safari through the Cosmos (2017)
Last Child under the Sun (2019)
Rose from Concrete (2021)
Adventures don’t wait (2020)
Adventures dont’t wait 2 (2023)
The first three collections form a kind of trilogy. In the for René Oskam’s typical typewriter letters, the poems are shaped. The cover illustrations are done in an ironic and surrealistic style. We follow a character (loosely based on René) growing up on his journey through the Cosmos.
After Last Child under the Sun, we went on a different tour with the designs, a typographic tour. For the covers, I came up with typographic design solutions that reinforced the title. With a more subtle design in the interior of the book, we made the step to a more mature visual look.
Displayed below are the chapter illustrations of Safari through the Cosmos
