Gerrit Komrij
Encyclopedia
Gerrit Jan Komrij is a Dutch
poet
, novelist, translator, critic
, polemic
journalist and playwright
. From 2000 to 2004 he was the Dutch Dichter des Vaderlands
(Poet Laureate
).
and began a literary career. In 1968 his first volume of poetry was published, Maagdenburgse halve bollen en andere gedichten, and in 1969 he became editor of the Bert Bakker
-founded literary magazine Maatstaf
. In the seventies he also became a critic of television, literature, and architecture, well-feared for his colorful and sarcastic language.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Komrij and his partner Charles Hofman befriended a number of Dutch authors including Boudewijn Büch
, with whom he maintained a lengthy correspondence. In the early 1980s Komrij and Hofman moved to Portugal
, not long after his play Het Chemisch Huwelijk premiered in Amsterdam; he has lived in Portugal ever since.
(1994), and Melodias Estranhas by Antonio Chagas Rosa
(2000).
He supplied lyrics to two collaborative ventures with the Dutch vocal ensemble Camerata Trajectina
. The first was in reconstructing song texts to Dutch songs by Jacob Obrecht
(2005). The second was in lyrics for the chamber choral cycle De Seven Zonden van Jeroen Bosch (The Seven Sins of Hieronymus Bosch) set to largely anonymous 16th Century tunes (2009). The theme of the Seven Sins follows the depiction in The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things
a painting Hieronymus Bosch completed in 1485.
literature, quaint 18th and 19th century poets, and ancient literature about farting are some of his more remarkable subjects. His articles and essays were collected in books such as like Verzonken boeken ('Sunk Books'), Averechts ('The Other Way') and Kakafonie ('Cacaphonia')--the latter subtitled An Encyclopedia of Shit. In 1979 Komrij published a new standard Dutch poetry anthology
, De Nederlandse poëzie van de negentiende en twintigste eeuw in duizend en enige gedichten (Dutch poetry of the 19th and 20th century in 1001 poems'), which quickly became the yardstick by which poets were measured. It was soon followed by a volume of 17th and 18th century poetry, an anthology of South African poets, and an anthology of medieval poems. He also edited various other anthologies, one about mothers and one selecting poetry by Jacob Israël de Haan
.
Komrij has translated from many different languages, including all of Shakespeare's
plays.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, novelist, translator, critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
journalist and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. From 2000 to 2004 he was the Dutch Dichter des Vaderlands
Dichter des Vaderlands
The Dichter des Vaderlands is an unofficial title for the Poet laureate of the Netherlands. This position was created by the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, the Nederlandse Programma Stichting and the foundation Poetry International in January 2000. The Dichter des Vaderlands's poetry represents...
(Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
).
Biography
Gerrit Jan Komrij was born in the eastern Dutch town of Winterswijk. He soon moved to AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and began a literary career. In 1968 his first volume of poetry was published, Maagdenburgse halve bollen en andere gedichten, and in 1969 he became editor of the Bert Bakker
Bert Bakker
Lambertus Jozef Bakker was a Dutch writer and publisher in the Netherlands. He wrote literary studies, two novels, poetry, and children's books. In World War II he was involved in the Dutch Resistance and assisted in the publication of Vrij Nederland...
-founded literary magazine Maatstaf
Maatstaf
Maatstaf was a Dutch literary magazine, founded in 1953 by Bert Bakker. Bakker, who was the magazine's first editor, is credited with bringing in poets such as Ida Gerhardt...
. In the seventies he also became a critic of television, literature, and architecture, well-feared for his colorful and sarcastic language.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Komrij and his partner Charles Hofman befriended a number of Dutch authors including Boudewijn Büch
Boudewijn Büch
Boudewijn Maria Ignatius Büch was a Dutch writer, poet and television presenter.-Early life:Büch originated from a to the Catholic Church converted Jewish family. He was born in a hospital in The Hague and spent his childhood in Wassenaar. His father was a civil servant. He and Boudewijn's mother...
, with whom he maintained a lengthy correspondence. In the early 1980s Komrij and Hofman moved to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, not long after his play Het Chemisch Huwelijk premiered in Amsterdam; he has lived in Portugal ever since.
Lyrics
Komrij has written librettos to two operas: Symposium by Peter SchatPeter Schat
Peter Schat was a Dutch composer.Schat studied composition with Kees van Baaren at the conservatories in Utrecht and The Hague from 1952 until 1958, and then went on to study in London with Mátyás Seiber in 1959 and with Pierre Boulez in Basle in 1960–61...
(1994), and Melodias Estranhas by Antonio Chagas Rosa
António Chagas Rosa
António Chagas Rosa is a Portuguese composer of contemporary classical music, considered one of the leading figures of contemporary musical writing of his generation....
(2000).
He supplied lyrics to two collaborative ventures with the Dutch vocal ensemble Camerata Trajectina
Camerata Trajectina
Camerata Trajectina is a Dutch early music ensemble.The ensemble was founded in Utrecht in 1974 by Jos van Veldhoven and Jan Nuchelmans...
. The first was in reconstructing song texts to Dutch songs by Jacob Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht
Jacob Obrecht was a Flemish composer of the Renaissance. He was the most famous composer of masses in Europe in the late 15th century, being eclipsed by only Josquin des Prez after his death.-Life:...
(2005). The second was in lyrics for the chamber choral cycle De Seven Zonden van Jeroen Bosch (The Seven Sins of Hieronymus Bosch) set to largely anonymous 16th Century tunes (2009). The theme of the Seven Sins follows the depiction in The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things
The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things
The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things is a painting attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, completed around 1500 or later. The painting is oil on wood panels...
a painting Hieronymus Bosch completed in 1485.
Prose
Besides being a critic of poetry and culture in general, Komrij wrote several semi-autobiographical works, including Verwoest Arcadië ('Arcadia Demolished', 1980) and Demonen ('Demons', 2003). He also authored several novels, Over de bergen ('Over the Mountains'), Dubbelster ('Double Star') and De klopgeest ('Poltergeist').Books about books, anthologies
Komrij is a collector of rare and absurd books (a hobby he shared with Boudewijn Büch), and has written extensively about them. Old homosexualHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
literature, quaint 18th and 19th century poets, and ancient literature about farting are some of his more remarkable subjects. His articles and essays were collected in books such as like Verzonken boeken ('Sunk Books'), Averechts ('The Other Way') and Kakafonie ('Cacaphonia')--the latter subtitled An Encyclopedia of Shit. In 1979 Komrij published a new standard Dutch poetry anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
, De Nederlandse poëzie van de negentiende en twintigste eeuw in duizend en enige gedichten (Dutch poetry of the 19th and 20th century in 1001 poems'), which quickly became the yardstick by which poets were measured. It was soon followed by a volume of 17th and 18th century poetry, an anthology of South African poets, and an anthology of medieval poems. He also edited various other anthologies, one about mothers and one selecting poetry by Jacob Israël de Haan
Jacob Israël de Haan
Jacob Israël de Haan was a Dutch Jewish literary writer and journalist who was assassinated in Jerusalem by the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah for his anti-Zionist political activities and contacts with Arab leaders. He is believed to be the first victim of Zionist political violence...
.
Komrij has translated from many different languages, including all of Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays.
Awards
His prose was recognized in 1979 when he was awarded the Busken Huet award. In 1993 Komrij received the P.C. Hooft Award, the chief literary accolade in the Dutch language area, for his prose. For his poetry, he won the poetry prize of the city of Amsterdam in 1970, for Alle vlees is als gras, and the Herman Gorter prize in 1982, for De os op de klokketoren.Autobiography
- Verwoest Arcadië. [Arcadia Demolished, slightly fictional autobiography.] Privé-Domein 59. Amsterdam: Arbeiderspers, 1980. ISBN 9029526947.
- Intimiteiten. [Intimacies; autobiographical essays.] Amsterdam: Arbeiderspers, 1993. ISBN 9789029526845.
- Demonen. [Demons; "autobiographical stories."] Amsterdam: De Bezige BijDe Bezige BijDe Bezige Bij is one of the most important literary publishing companies in the Netherlands.-History:The company was founded illegally in 1943, during the German occupation of the Netherlands by Geert Lubberhuizen; its fist publication was a poem by Jan Campert called De Achttien Dooden , which...
, 2003. ISBN 9789023411598. - Eendagsvliegen. [Mayflies; diary entries 1965-2005.] Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2005. ISBN 9789023417682.
Prose fiction
- Een zakenlunch in Sintra en andere Portuguese verhalen. [A Business Lunch in Sintra and other Portuguese Stories; 28 short stories.] Amsterdam: Arbeiderspers, 1995. ISBN 9029527005.
- De klopgeest. [The Poltergeist; novel.] Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2001. ISBN 9023462440.
Prose criticism
- Lood en hagel. [Lead and Hail; anthology of 'ad hominem' essays.] Amsterdam: Arbeiderspers, 1998. ISBN 9789029524520.
- Vreemd pakhuis. [Strange Warehouse; collection of essays on authors and literature.] Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2001. ISBN 9789023470373.
Poetry
- Twee werelden. [Two Worlds; cycle of 8 sonnets on European unification in Dutch, Danish, German, English, French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish.] Amsterdam: Arbeiderspers, 1987. ISBN 902952720X.
- Rook zonder vuur. [Smoke Without Fire; 20 sonnets.] The Hague: Stupers Van der Heijden, 1998. ISBN 9075618093.
- 52 Sonnetten bij het Verglijden van de Eeuw. [52 Sonnets on the Passing of the Century.] Amsterdam: Bert Bakker, 2000. ISBN 9035121457.
- Luchtspiegelingen: Gedichten, voornamelijk elegisch. [Mirages: Poems, mainly Elegiac; 47 poems.] Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2001. ISBN 9789023448198.
- Komrij's patentwekkerKomrij's patentwekkerKomrij's Patentwekker is a "deliciously filthy" book of poetry by Dutch author Gerrit Komrij, first published in 1974. The book contains four poems which outline a fictional invention—an alarm clock that consists of a burning candle inserted in the sleeper's anus, containing markings for each hour...
. [Komrij's Patented Alarm Clock; 12 poems detailing the rectal insertion of a burning candle to function as an alarm clock.] Illustrations by Dick Matena. Originally published 1974. Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2007. ISBN 9789023422624.
Encyclopedia
- Komrij's Kakafonie: Encyclopedie van de stront. [Komrij's Cacaphonia: An Encyclopedia of Shit.] Amsterdam: De Bezige Bij, 2006. ISBN 9023419073.
Anthologies
- De Afrikaanse poëzie in 1000 en enige gedichten. [Afrikaans Poetry in 1001 Poems; anthology of South-African poetry.] Amsterdam: Bert Bakker, 1999. ISBN 9789035120419.
- De Afrikaanse poëzie, 10 gedichten en een lexicon. [Afrikaans Poetry, 10 Poems and a Lexicon; 10 South-African poems with explications and glossary.] Amsterdam: Bert Bakker, 1999. ISBN 9789035120945.