Anne Provoost (born 26 July 1964) is a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

author who now lives in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

with her husband and three children.

Career

Anne Provoost was born in the Belgian town of

Poperinge Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge p ...

. She grew up in a family of four children in

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

and went on to pursue Germanic studies at the linked universities of

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

and

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

. Although she had been writing stories since childhood, she thought nothing of it until she began to win competitions while a student. She continued her education with a one-year course in pedagogics and then, having married Manu Claeys, went to join him in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, where he was studying American literature. During this time, she started contributing to Belgian and American children's newspapers and also wrote her first novel, ''My Aunt is a Pilot Whale'' (1991), which is set in the USA. She returned to Belgium in 1989 and worked part-time for an international exchange organisation, but after the success of her second novel, ''Falling'', she decided to become a full-time writer. Anne Provoost is known for remaking

myths Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

, folk tales,

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cul ...

, and bible stories. Once a year, she writes a letter to

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

answering one of his stories. Apart from being a novelist, Provoost also writes essays on literature and children's literature as well as

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

. Her work, originally published in Dutch, has been translated into many European languages as well as

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and Turkish. She was made a member of Royal Academy of Dutch Language and Literature in 2003. In June 2007, she was a candidate for the Senate for the Flemish Green Party.

The novels

Anne Provoost is counted as a novelist for young adults and her stories are usually related by youngsters from their slightly puzzled point of view. The first two of her books dealt with controversial themes. In ''My Aunt is a Pilot Whale'' it is sexual abuse. Her second novel, ''Falling'' (1994), deals with the allure of

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack r ...

rhetoric. Both these won awards and critical acclaim, particularly ''Falling'', which has been adapted three times for theatre and was made into an English-language feature film in 2001. In 1997 Provoost retold the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast in ''The Rose and the Swine'', set in mediaeval Antwerp. ''In the Shadow of the Ark'' (2001) is an account of the biblical story of

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible ( Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...

told from the perspective of a teenage girl who was not chosen to survive the deluge. Both these take a critical look at the traditional religious mind-set, a theme she has taken further in her essay ''Beloved Unbelievers: Atheist Sermon'' (2008), in which she makes a plea for organisation in the face of right-wing

Christian fundamentalism Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

. Her newest novel, ''Looking into the Sun'', was published 2007. It is the story of a young girl living on an Australian farm with her mother, who has bad eyesight and knows she may be going blind. Her father has died after a fall from a horse and the mother tries but fails to keep the farm going.

Selected works

Novels

* '' My Aunt Is a Pilot Whale'' (1990) () * ''

Falling Falling or fallin' may refer to: *Falling (physics), movement due to gravity *Falling (accident) * Falling (execution) * Falling (sensation) People * Christine Falling (born 1963), American serial killer who murdered six children Books * ''Fa ...

'' (1994) () * '' The Rose and the Swine'' (1997) * '' In the Shadow of the Ark'' (2001) () * '' Looking into the Sun'' (2007) ()

Essays

* ''Second Letter to Hans Christian Andersen'' * ''Bad endings for children. Hopelessness and consolation; growing up, willing or not'' * ''So here's the bad news. The child as an antagonist'' * ''Identification in Falling. If goblins don't exist...''

Film adaptations

*''Falling'' (the movie)

Awards

*1991 - Belgium, Boekenleeuw for ''My Aunt is a Pilot Whale'' *1991 - Belgium, Prijs Letterkunde van de Vlaamse Provincies - Jeugd- en kinderboek, for ''My Aunt is a Pilot Whale'' *1995 - The Netherlands, Woutertje Pieterse Prijs for ''Falling'' *1995 - Belgium, Boekenleeuw for ''Falling'' *1995 - International, Honour list IBBY for ''Falling'' *1995 - Belgium,

Gouden Uil The Golden Book-Owl (De Gouden Boekenuil) is a Belgian prize for original Dutch language literature. Originally it was named Golden Owl (De Gouden Uil). It has been awarded annually since 1995. Development It has changed categories several times ...

voor kinder- en jeugdliteratuur for ''Falling'' *1995 - The Netherlands, Zilveren Griffel for ''Falling'' *1995 - International, Special mention White Ravens for ''Falling'' *1996 - Belgium, Prijs Letterkunde van de Vlaamse Provincies - Jeugd- en Kinderboek for ''Falling'' *1997 - France, Shortlist Prix du Lecteur of Mans and Sarthe for ''Falling'' *1998 - International, Honour list IBBY for ''The Rose and the Swine'' *1998 - Belgium, Shortlist for Gouden Uil for ''The Rose and the Swine'' *1998 - Belgium, Boekenleeuw for ''The Rose and the Swine'' *1998 - The Netherlands, Gouden Zoen for ''The Rose and the Swine'' *2000 - Germany, Luchs-Award from Die Zeit for ''The Rose and the Swine'' *2000 - Germany, Prijs van Nordrhein-Westfalen for ''My Aunt is a Pilot Whale'', ''Falling'' and ''The Rose and the Swine'' *2000 - Belgium, Lavki-award for ''Falling'', a 5-yearly award of the city of Hasselt *2001 - Austria, Sonderpreis from the Jury der Jungen Leser for ''The Rose and the Swine'' *2002 - The Netherlands, Gouden Zoen for ''In the Shadow of the Ark'' *2002 - Belgium, Boekenwelp for ''In the Shadow of the Ark'' *2002 - Belgium, Longlist Gouden Uil for ''In the Shadow of the Ark'' *2004 - USA, Children's Book Sense Picks for ''In the Shadow of the Ark'' *2005 - Belgium, Prijs Letterkunde van de Provincie West-Vlaanderen - Jeugd- en Kinderboek for ''In the Shadow of the Ark'' *2005 - International, Longlist International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for ''In the Shadow of the Ark'' *2007 - The Netherlands, Longlist LIBRIS-award for ''Looking into the Sun'' *2007 - The Netherlands, Shortlist Halewijn-award in Roermond for ''Looking into the Sun'' *2008 - The Netherlands, Woman&Culture Award for ''Looking into the Sun''. *2009 - Belgium, the 3-yearly Culture Award of Flanders for ''Looking into the Sun''.

References

External links

*
Anne Provoost at the PEN American Center

(streaming video)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Provoost, Anne 1964 births Living people Belgian essayists KU Leuven alumni People from West Flanders Belgian women essayists Flemish women writers 20th-century Belgian women writers 20th-century Belgian writers 21st-century Belgian women writers 21st-century Belgian writers Woutertje Pieterse Prize winners Boekenleeuw winners