Dimitri Verhulst (born 2 October 1972) is a Belgian writer and poet. He is best known for his novels ''Problemski Hotel'' and ''The Misfortunates''.

Biography

Verhulst was an unwanted child in a violent home and spent his later childhood in a foster home and a family replacing home. He grew up Catholic. As a writer, he made his debut in 1994 with the self-published ''Assevrijdag''. In 1999 his first official publication appeared, a collection of stories about his youth, ''De kamer hiernaast'', for which he was nominated for the NRC Literair Prijs. The novel ''Niets, niemand en redelijk stil'' (2000) is also about his youth, but ''De verveling van de keeper'' (2002) signals a change in form and is characterized by great social and political involvement. In 2001, Verhulst published ''Liefde, tenzij anders vermeld'', a collection of poetry. His breakthrough to the general public was in 2003, with ''Problemski Hotel'' (translated as ''Problemski Hotel''), about residents of an asylum-seekers' centre in Arendonk (Belgium). The book was translated into more than ten languages. Belgian filmmaker Manu Riche made a movie based on the book, which is to premiere in January 2016. In 2006 his novel ''De helaasheid der dingen'' (translated as ''The Misfortunates'') was published, and also the novella ''Mevrouw Verona daalt de heuvel af'' (translated as ''Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill''). In 2008, ''Godverdomse dagen op een godverdomse bol'' ("Goddamn days on a goddamn globe") was published, for which Verhulst won the 2009 Libris Prize; Verhulst wrote the 2015 ''Boekenweekgeschenk'', ''De zomer hou je ook niet tegen''. His 2015 novel ''Bloedboek'' ("Bloodbook"), a retelling of the

Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

, was praised in '' De Morgen'' for its amusement value; in the Dutch daily '' Trouw'' it was called a "gruesome bible", with the interviewer questioning Verhulst about his use of terms such as " Final solution" in retelling the first five books of the bible. Verhulst responded that he used the "worldwide language of genocide". Verhulst publishes on a regular basis in the literary journals ''Underground'', ''Nieuw Wereldtijdschrift'' and ''De Brakke Hond''. For ''Underground'' he is also an editor. He lives and works in Huccorgne.

Writing style

Verhulst's writing style has been characterized as sarcastic but compassionate. His use of language can be explicit and hilarious. Belgian writer

Louis Paul Boon Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht (Louis Paul) Boon (15 March 1912, in Aalst, Belgium, Aalst – 10 May 1979, in Erembodegem) was a Belgian writer of novels, poetry, pornography, columns and art criticism in Flemish dialects, Flemish. He was also a painter. ...

is a source of inspiration for Verhulst. His writing is controversial, and Verhulst was twice summoned to court.

Controversy

On 27 July 2019, Verhulst published a newspaper column in the Belgian daily De Morgen about Palestinian modern literature. In this column by Verhulst, he claimed to quote

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

writing that: " "Jood-zijn is geen godsdienst; er is geen enkele God die Zijn schepsels zo’n lelijke neus zou geven." (Translated: "Being Jewish is not a religion; there is no God who would give His creatures such an ugly nose.") According to The Times of Israel, this was not Gainsbourgs original quote and Verhulst accused Israeli Jews of various crimes in his columns. The Times of Israel stated the Forum of Jewish Organizations of Belgium's Flemish region accused Verhulst of expressing “rabid anti-Semitism” in his column and the Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs called the column “pure anti-Semitism."

Bibliography

* ''Assevrijdag'' (1994) * ''De kamer hiernaast'' (1999) * ''Niets, niemand en redelijk stil'' (2001) * ''Liefde, tenzij anders vermeld'' (2001, poetry) * ''De verveling van de keeper'' (2002) * ''Problemski Hotel'' (2003) * ''Dinsdagland'' (2004) * ''De aankomst in de bleke morgen op dat bleke plein (Aalst)'' (2005, play) * ''Yerma vraagt een toefeling'' (2005, translation of ''Yerma'' by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

) * ''Boekendiefstal is een zegen voor de middenstand'' (2005) * ''De helaasheid der dingen'' (2006, ''The Misfortunates''; there is also a 2009 film version called '' The Misfortunates'') * ''Mevrouw Verona daalt de heuvel af'' (2006, ''Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill'') * ''Godverdomse dagen op een godverdomse bol'' (2008) * ''De laatste liefde van mijn moeder'' (2010) * ''De zeven laatste zinnen'' (2010) * ''Monoloog van iemand die het gewoon werd tegen zichzelf te praten'' (2011) * ''De intrede van Christus in Brussel'' (2011, ''Entry of Christ into Brussels'') * ''De laatkomer'' (2013) * ''Kaddisj voor een kut'' (2014) * ''Bloedboek'' (2015) * ''De zomer hou je ook niet tegen'' (2015, Boekenweekgeschenk) * ''Het leven gezien van beneden'' (2016) * ''Spoo Pee Doo'' (2016) * ''Stoppen met roken in 87 gedichten'' (2017) * ''De pruimenpluk'' (2019) * ''Hebben en zijn'' (2022)

Awards

* ''Publieksprijs Gouden Uil'' for ''De helaasheid der dingen'' (2007) * ''De Inktaap'' for ''De helaasheid der dingen'' (2008) * ''Beste Boek 2008 HUMO's Pop Poll'' for ''Godverdomse dagen op een godverdomse bol'' (2009) * ''Libris Literatuurprijs'' for ''Godverdomse dagen op een godverdomse bol'' (2009)

References