Literary debut
Burnier debuted in the literary magazine ''Tirade'' with her story ''Verschrikkingen van het Noorden''. Along with assuming a new name as a writer, Burnier also assumed the opposite gender. In 1965, she published her first novel, ''Een tevreden lach'' (the title of which translates as something like "A Contented Laugh"). In it she wrote about her homosexuality, a topic that had previously not been widely discussed in Dutch literature. She did not mean to publish this novel at first as she wrote it for herself due to the need of reflection, and she deemed it unfit for publication, but after coming into contact with a manager who worked at Querido, who wanted to read it, it became published. ''Een tevreden lach'' was well received by critics who praised its original structural elements. The book is considered to be one of the first novels ofTopics of her novels
Notable topics Burnier writes about are powerlessness, frustration and anger which she experienced by the masculine-oriented society. This caused her to write and think about herself and if she was a man trapped in a woman's body. The main topic of ''Het jongensuur'' is a young girl who wonders if she is not a boy. A lot of Burnier's novels are autobiographical like her debut novel ''Een tevreden lach''. Her protagonist struggles with her identity as a developing young woman. ''De wereld is van glas'' also contains autobiographical fragments. The main character is looking for a person who can help her reconcile with all the different characters she experiences. She finds this reconciliation in Judaism. After Burnier's father died she reconciled with Judaism and her books were more oriented on this religion. ''Het jongensuur'' is the only book from her earlier work which features a Jewish protagonist.Feminism and activism
Burnier was also a pioneer during the second feminist wave, often writing about the inborn misfortune of having a female body. Many of her works are intended to encourage women to take their place in society and fight for their rights. She thought that it was a privilege to be born as part of a suppressed minority, and in an interview with W.M. Roggeman in 1977 she stated: "To suffer is good for mankind", because it kept her sharp and motivated to change a woman's status in society. Burnier saw feminism as a positive force for remaking civilization. She was an outspoken defender of gay rights and was opposed to abortion and euthanasia. In her argumentation of why she was opposed to abortion, euthanasia and genetic manipulation, she referred to the eugenetics of the Nazi-ideology.Personal life
Burnier was born Catharina Irma Dessaur inPseudonym
Burnier chose a pseudonym, because she wanted to keep her private person strictly separated from her literary person. This was necessary, because she did not want to be known as the author of a possibly controversial book, which could have hurt her academic career. She chose a male pseudonym, because it was easier if she was not seen as a female writer, as female writers were often seen as if they were all the same. Later, when her true identity was revealed, this still happened to her. She tried to turn her own name in a pseudonym which resulted in the name Andreas. After many failed attempts, she chose a name that was familiar to her. A jeweler's family with the name Burnier lived in The Hague. In addition, one of the streets is called the Burniersstraat, which housed the editorial secretariat of Hollands Maandblad, a literary magazine. This was a magazine Burnier would later publish in. In an interview with Klaas Pereboom, she stated that she does not have a first name. Officially she is called Catharina Irma, but in the war she was called Ronnie, and in her adolescence she was called Reinier, after a pseudonym she once used, and later people used the name Andreas. She said she had a hard time with the fact that she did not have a real name, but stated that it could not be solved anymore.Bibliography
Her works include: * ''Een tevreden lach'' (1965) * ''De verschrikkingen van het noorden'' (1967) * ''Het jongensuur'' (1969) * ''De huilende libertijn'' (1970) * ''Poëzie: jongens en het gezelschap van geleerde vrouwen'' (1974) * ''De reis naar Kithira'' (1976) * ''De zwembadmentaliteit'' (1979) * ''Na de laatste keer'' (1981) * ''De droom der rede'' (1982) * ''De litteraire salon'' (1983) * ''De trein naar Tarascon'' (1986) * ''Gesprekken in de nacht'' (1987) * ''Mystiek en magie in de literatuur'' (1988) * ''De achtste scheppingsdag'' (1990) * ''Een wereld van verschil'' (1994) * ''Gustav Meyrink: bewoner van twee werelden'' (1996) * ''Manoeuvres'' (1996) * ''De wereld is van glas'' (1997) * ''Joods lezen'' (1997) * ''Een gevaar dat de ziel in wil'' (2003) * ''Na de laatste keer'' (2004)Further reading
* Elisabeth Lockhorn: ''Andreas Burnier, metselaar van de wereld''. Amsterdam & Antwerpen, Uitgeverij Augustus/Atlas Contact, 2015 (biography).See also
* LGBT writers in the Dutch-language areaReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnier, Andreas 1931 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Dutch poets 20th-century Dutch novelists 20th-century Dutch women writers Dutch criminologists Dutch women novelists Dutch women poets Dutch LGBT rights activists Pseudonymous women writers Academic staff of Radboud University Nijmegen Writers from The Hague Dutch women criminologists Dutch LGBT poets Dutch LGBT novelists 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century LGBT people