Gerrit Komrij facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gerrit Komrij
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Gerrit Komrij (1994)
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| Born | Gerrit Jan Komrij 30 March 1944 Winterswijk, Netherlands |
| Died | 5 July 2012 (aged 68) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Occupation | Poet, novelist, translator, literary critic, playwright |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Period | 1968-2012 |
| Notable awards | P. C. Hooft Award (1993) |
| Partner | Charles Hofman |
Gerrit Jan Komrij (born March 30, 1944 – died July 5, 2012) was a very important Dutch writer. He was a poet, a novelist (someone who writes books), a translator (someone who changes words from one language to another), and a critic. He also wrote plays.
Gerrit Komrij became well-known in the early 1970s. His poems were different from what other poets were writing then. He also became famous for his essays and articles. He often wrote about other writers, TV shows, and politicians.
Komrij had a big impact on Dutch literature. He created famous collections of Dutch poems from different centuries. These collections helped shape what people thought were the most important poems. He won many top awards, including the P. C. Hooft Award in 1993. From 2000 to 2004, he was even the official Poet Laureate of the Netherlands.
Contents
Gerrit Komrij's Life Story
Gerrit Jan Komrij was born on March 30, 1944. This was in a town called Winterswijk in the eastern part of the Netherlands. He later moved to Amsterdam to start his writing career.
Early Career and Writing Style
In 1968, his first book of poems was published. It was called Maagdenburgse halve bollen en andere gedichten. The next year, in 1969, he became an editor for a literary magazine called Maatstaf.
In the 1970s, Komrij also started writing reviews. He reviewed television shows, books, and even buildings. People knew him for his colorful and sometimes sharp writing style.
Life in Portugal
In the 1970s and 1980s, Komrij became friends with other Dutch writers. He and his partner, Charles Hofman, moved to Portugal in the early 1980s. He lived there for the rest of his life.
A Sad Farewell
Gerrit Komrij passed away in 2012 when he was 68 years old. Many people praised his work after his death. The Poet Laureate at the time, Ramsey Nasr, wrote a poem for him. Even Queen Beatrix sent her condolences. She said that the Netherlands had lost a great poet.
Komrij's Creative Works
Gerrit Komrij was a very busy writer. He wrote many different kinds of things, from poems to plays.
Writing for Operas
Komrij wrote the words for two operas. These are called librettos.
- One was for an opera called Symposium by Peter Schat in 1994.
- The other was for Melodias Estranhas by Antonio Chagas Rosa in 2000.
He also worked with a Dutch music group called Camerata Trajectina. They worked together to put words to old Dutch songs by Jacob Obrecht in 2005. He also wrote lyrics for a choral work called De Seven Zonden van Jeroen Bosch in 2009. This work was based on a famous painting by Hieronymus Bosch.
His Prose Writings
Besides being a critic, Komrij wrote several books about his own life. These are called semi-autobiographical works. They include Verwoest Arcadië (which means 'Arcadia Demolished', 1980) and Demonen ('Demons', 2003).
He also wrote several novels, which are longer stories. Some of his novels are:
- Over de bergen ('Over the Mountains')
- Dubbelster ('Double Star')
- De klopgeest ('Poltergeist')
Books About Books and Collections
Gerrit Komrij loved collecting rare and unusual books. He shared this hobby with his friend Boudewijn Büch. He wrote a lot about these books and his passion for them.
Famous Anthologies
His articles and essays about books were put together in collections. Some of these are Verzonken boeken ('Sunk Books') and Kakafonie ('Cacaphonia').
In 1979, Komrij published a very important collection of Dutch poems. It was called De Nederlandse poëzie van de 19de en 20ste eeuw in 1000 en enige gedichten. This means "Dutch poetry of the 19th and 20th century in 1000 and some poems." This book quickly became the main way to judge poets.
He followed this with other collections of poems:
- A book of 17th and 18th century poetry.
- A collection of poems by South African poets.
- A collection of medieval poems.
He also put together other special collections, like one about mothers and another with poems by Jacob Israël de Haan.
A Master Translator
Komrij was also a talented translator. He translated works from many different languages. He even translated all of Shakespeare's plays into Dutch!
Awards and Recognition
Gerrit Komrij received many awards for his writing.
Awards for Prose
- In 1979, he won the Busken Huet award for his prose writing.
- In 1993, he received the P.C. Hooft Award. This is the highest literary award in the Dutch language. He won it for his prose.
Awards for Poetry
- In 1970, he won the poetry prize from the city of Amsterdam for his book Alle vlees is als gras.
- In 1982, he won the Herman Gorter prize for his book De os op de klokketoren.
