Gerrit Achterberg facts for kids
Gerrit Achterberg (born May 20, 1905 – died January 17, 1962) was a famous Dutch poet. His early poems often explored feelings of love and loss.
Achterberg was born in Nederlangbroek, a town in the Netherlands. He was the third of eight children and grew up in a Protestant family. His father worked as a coachman until cars became more popular. Gerrit was a very good student. In 1924, he started working as a teacher. That same year, he published his first poems with Arie Dekkers, who had encouraged him to write. Their book was called De Zangen van Twee Twintigers (which means The Songs of Two Twenty-Somethings).
Becoming a Poet
Gerrit Achterberg's writing career really began to grow when Roel Houwink became his mentor. In 1931, Achterberg published a collection of poems called "Afvaart." This book already showed his well-known theme of a love that was sadly lost. After "Afvaart" came out, Achterberg faced some health challenges and spent time recovering.
He continued to write a lot of poetry. Between 1939 and 1953, he published 22 collections of his poems. In 1946, he married his childhood friend, Cathrien van Baak. They lived in Leusden until he passed away from a heart attack in 1962.
Awards and Famous Works
In 1959, Achterberg received the important Constantijn Huygens Prize. This award was given for all the amazing poetry he had written throughout his life.
Some of his most famous works include the Ballad Reiziger doet Golgotha (which means A Tourist Does Golgotha). Another well-known piece is the sonnet series Ballade van de gasfitter (1953; Ballad of the gasfitter). The famous writer J.M. Coetzee even included this sonnet series in his book of translated Dutch poetry, Landscape with Rowers (2004).
See also
- Margriet Ehlen - A Dutch composer who has created music for some of Achterberg's poems.
