EU President Publishes Poems    [03-05-2010] Last Thursday, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Union (EU)유럽연합, published a collection of Japanese-style poems. He showed off his abundant sensibility in his poems. The politician-poet is well-known for his love for poetry and unique style of writing. Mr. Van Rompuy’s book is titled “Haiku.” It contains 48 of his verses. His books are published in the five main languages of Europe - Dutch, English, French, German, and Latin. His poems are mystical and follow the rigid five-seven-five syllable structure. His style of poetry is called haiku. Haiku is a 17-syllable form of Japanese poetry. Mr. Van Rompuy has become internationally famous not for his political achievements but for his poems. He calls himself a “politician-haiku poet.” He usually writes poems about the natural world and his close family members. He says that writing poems help him control his thoughts and attitude as a politician. According to him, writing poems helps him to stay modest, honest, and moderate. Born in 1947, the 63-year-old politician-poet served as Belgium’s prime minister for just 10 months from December, 2008 to November, 2009 before becoming the EU president. On November 19, 2009, he was elected as the president of the EU by his fellow prime ministers. He will serve the position until May 31, 2012. He is the first long-term and full-time president of the EU.     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)