Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
Encyclopedia
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer Dutch
poet, novelist, polemic
ist and classical scholar, was born in Rijswijk
, Netherlands
, and having studied, lived and worked in Leiden, he moved permanently to Genoa
, Italy
, in 2008.
As well as a poet, Pfeijffer was for some time a Greek scholar on the staff of Leiden University. He wrote a dissertation on the poetry of Pindar
and published a history of classical literature for the general reader. Regarding his own poetry he has outspoken views, not just in his oft-quoted programmatic opening poem "Farewell Dinner," in which he dismisses the hermetic Hans Faverey and calls for "butter-baked images / and bulimic verse". Pfeijffer’s poetic polemics leave no room for doubt as to what kind of poetry he prefers. He feels akin to Lucebert, and he abhors the paper verse of introverted hermetics and meek-hearted dreamers ("stumble, stiff romantic, mumble on"). Poetry should have life, and preferably, in Lucebert
’s words, "life in full".
Thus Pfeijffer, the "gleaner of contrivances," quotes not only Pindar
and Ezra Pound
, Horace
and Lucebert, Sophocles
, Derek Walcott
, Herman Gorter
, Hans Faverey, Martinus Nijhoff
and Gerard Reve
, but comic book characters as well. He not only writes about the political martyr Ken Saro Wiwa, but also about C&A
sweaters and Fiat
Croma, barcode
s, canned beer, butt-tight and garamond
ten point italic. The poet neither lacks humor or self-mockery, nor seriousness for that matter, witness his hotly tender love poems: "and though I sang and gave over my loins / and you failed to scorch my senses / I should be useless white on white."
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, novelist, 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...
ist and classical scholar, was born in Rijswijk
Rijswijk
Rijswijk is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is a suburb of The Hague and covers an area of 14.48 km² ....
, Netherlands
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...
, and having studied, lived and worked in Leiden, he moved permanently to Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in 2008.
Biography
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer made his début in 1998 with a collection entitled Of the Square Man, containing of fifty-odd highly individualistic poems. This debut won him the 1999 C. Buddingh’ poetry prize.As well as a poet, Pfeijffer was for some time a Greek scholar on the staff of Leiden University. He wrote a dissertation on the poetry of Pindar
Pindar
Pindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian described him as "by far the greatest of the nine lyric poets, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich...
and published a history of classical literature for the general reader. Regarding his own poetry he has outspoken views, not just in his oft-quoted programmatic opening poem "Farewell Dinner," in which he dismisses the hermetic Hans Faverey and calls for "butter-baked images / and bulimic verse". Pfeijffer’s poetic polemics leave no room for doubt as to what kind of poetry he prefers. He feels akin to Lucebert, and he abhors the paper verse of introverted hermetics and meek-hearted dreamers ("stumble, stiff romantic, mumble on"). Poetry should have life, and preferably, in Lucebert
Lucebert
Lucebert was a Dutch artist who first became known as the poet of the COBRA movement.He was born in Amsterdam in 1924...
’s words, "life in full".
Thus Pfeijffer, the "gleaner of contrivances," quotes not only Pindar
Pindar
Pindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian described him as "by far the greatest of the nine lyric poets, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich...
and Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
, Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
and Lucebert, Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
, Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott
Derek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
, Herman Gorter
Herman Gorter
Herman Gorter was a Dutch poet and socialist. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers, a highly influential group of Dutch writers who worked together in Amsterdam in the 1880s, centered around De Nieuwe Gids .Gorter's first book, a 4,000 verse epic poem called "Mei" , sealed his reputation...
, Hans Faverey, Martinus Nijhoff
Martinus Nijhoff
Martinus Nijhoff was a Dutch poet and essayist. He studied literature in Amsterdam and law in Utrecht. His debut was made in 1916 with his volume De wandelaar...
and Gerard Reve
Gerard Reve
Gerard Kornelis van het Reve was a Dutch writer. He adopted a shortened version of his name, Gerard Reve in 1973, and that is how he is known today. Together with Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, he is considered one of the "Great Three" of Dutch post-war literature...
, but comic book characters as well. He not only writes about the political martyr Ken Saro Wiwa, but also about C&A
C&A
C&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...
sweaters and Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
Croma, barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
s, canned beer, butt-tight and garamond
Garamond
Garamond is the name given to a group of old-style serif typefaces named after the punch-cutter Claude Garamond . Most of the Garamond faces are more closely related to the work of a later punch-cutter, Jean Jannon...
ten point italic. The poet neither lacks humor or self-mockery, nor seriousness for that matter, witness his hotly tender love poems: "and though I sang and gave over my loins / and you failed to scorch my senses / I should be useless white on white."
Poetry
- Van de vierkante man, 1998
- Het glimpen van de welkwiek, 2001
- Dolores. Elegieën, 2002
- In de naam van de hond. De grote gedichten, 2005
- De man van vele manieren. Verzamelde gedichten 1998-2008 (collected poems)
Prose
- De antieken. Een literatuurgeschiedenis (literary history), 2000
- Rupert. Een bekentenis (novel), 2002
- Het geheim van het vermoorde geneuzel (essays), 2003
- Het grote baggerboek (novel), 2004
- Het ware leven. Een roman (novel), 2006
- De eeuw van mijn dochter (theatre), 2007
- Second Life. Verhalen en reportages uit een tweede leven (essay), 2007
- Malpensa (theatre), 2008
- De filosofie van de heuvel. Op de fiets naar Rome (travel literature, with Gelya Bogyatishcheva), 2009
- Harde feiten. Honderd romans (short fiction), 2010
- De Griekse mythen (mythological compendium), 2010
English translations
- Rupert: A Confession, 2009 (translated by Michele Hutchison, Rochester, Open Letter, 2009) ISBN 1-934824-09-7
External links
- Pfeijffer's Web Page http://www.iljapfeijffer.nl
- "Ilja Pfeijffer, aka Ilja Pfeiffer, the most important poet from the Netherlands", satirical website http://www.epibreren.com/pfeijffer/english.html
- Quite comprehensive bibliography (same website as above) http://www.epibreren.com/pfeijffer/bibliografie.html
Articles
- Article on I.L. Pfeijffer at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (in Dutch) http://www.kb.nl/dichters/pfeijffer/pfeijffer-01.html
Online poems (with translations)
- "en wat het dan betekent"/"and what it means" http://netherlands.poetryinternational.org/cwolk/view/16491
- "Een Corinthische ode"/"A Corinthian ode" http://netherlands.poetryinternational.org/cwolk/view/16495