Johnny van Doorn
Encyclopedia
Johnny van Doorn was a Dutch
writer, poet and performer, first in Arnhem
, later in the country's capital Amsterdam
. As a poet Van Doorn called himself Johnny the Selfkicker, a nickname he has proven to be worthy of by means of wild, often haphazard performances, during which he never failed to work himself into a frenzy, which often resulted in him collapsing right in front of an astonished audience, say, in the middle of a large retail outlet.
Born during the final stages of the Second World War in the little village of Beekbergen
to which his parents had to flee, because 10 miles to the south, in their native city of Arnhem, the Operation Market Garden
was culminating in the Battle of Arnhem. Johnny would later spend most of his childhood and youth on the ruins of that city - in fact the final city lost in battle by the Allied Forces before they achieved their final victory over Nazi Germany, some eight months later.
His early childhood years would turn out not to be the easiest for young Johnny, because he was born from a marriage most unusual for those days - namely that between a Dutchman
and a German
woman.
Later he would become well-known for his "primordial verse", as he used to call them; poetry back at its very roots, in the cradle of humanity from which emanate but hoarse and raw screams and sounds that lack almost all resemblance with actual words and the meaning that should normally follow from them.
Johnny van Doorn was not very popular during his lifetime, because not just his poetry, but his entire posture, as well as his frantic and openly demonstrated drug abuse, used to have an extremely offensive effect on lots of people during those otherwise so orderly and flegmatic postwar decades in the Netherlands, when nobody had heard of "flower power", student uproars, hippies or any other "altered states of perception" yet.
However, later on (mainly during the Sixties and the Seventies of the 20th century), many people would come to embrace exactly those qualities of Johnny and his writing, that had made him such a loner before. The tide had truly changed in his favour, and he loved every minute of it.
A Dutch bi-annual Prize for Spoken Literature and a square in the centre of Arnhem are both named after him.
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...
writer, poet and performer, first in Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, later in the country's capital Amsterdam
Amsterdam
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...
. As a poet Van Doorn called himself Johnny the Selfkicker, a nickname he has proven to be worthy of by means of wild, often haphazard performances, during which he never failed to work himself into a frenzy, which often resulted in him collapsing right in front of an astonished audience, say, in the middle of a large retail outlet.
Born during the final stages of the Second World War in the little village of Beekbergen
Beekbergen
Beekbergen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Apeldoorn, about 5 km south of that city.Beekbergen was a separate municipality until 1818, when it became a part of Apeldoorn....
to which his parents had to flee, because 10 miles to the south, in their native city of Arnhem, the Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time....
was culminating in the Battle of Arnhem. Johnny would later spend most of his childhood and youth on the ruins of that city - in fact the final city lost in battle by the Allied Forces before they achieved their final victory over Nazi Germany, some eight months later.
His early childhood years would turn out not to be the easiest for young Johnny, because he was born from a marriage most unusual for those days - namely that between a Dutchman
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 a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
woman.
Later he would become well-known for his "primordial verse", as he used to call them; poetry back at its very roots, in the cradle of humanity from which emanate but hoarse and raw screams and sounds that lack almost all resemblance with actual words and the meaning that should normally follow from them.
Johnny van Doorn was not very popular during his lifetime, because not just his poetry, but his entire posture, as well as his frantic and openly demonstrated drug abuse, used to have an extremely offensive effect on lots of people during those otherwise so orderly and flegmatic postwar decades in the Netherlands, when nobody had heard of "flower power", student uproars, hippies or any other "altered states of perception" yet.
However, later on (mainly during the Sixties and the Seventies of the 20th century), many people would come to embrace exactly those qualities of Johnny and his writing, that had made him such a loner before. The tide had truly changed in his favour, and he loved every minute of it.
A Dutch bi-annual Prize for Spoken Literature and a square in the centre of Arnhem are both named after him.