Gabriëlle Demedts (
Wielsbeke
Wielsbeke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Ooigem, Sint-Baafs-Vijve and Wielsbeke proper. On January 1, 2018, Wielsbeke had a total population of 9,584. The total area i ...
, June 11, 1909 –
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...
, September 6, 2002) was 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; ...
Belgian poet. She was a sibling of
André Demedts. In 1934 she wrote her first poems and in 1937 she published her first work "Een gevangene zingt" (The prisoner sings). As a young child she was struck by
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sym ...
which has determined the rest of her life.
In a book about the Declercq family, one can read that some of Demedts’ poems have been inspired by life-changing events in her life and that of the Declercqs.
She wrote, for instance, '’Rustig lied’' (quiet song) and '’Lage tonen'’ (low vibes) after a love break-up of her friend Valentine Declercq, or '’Zomer’' (Summer) when Valentine was severely ill and dying. Later, she also wrote a poem, '’Ik heb gedaan...'’ (I am done…),
[Gabrielle Demedts, 'Ik heb gedaan...', 'Dietsche Warande en Belfort', Jaargang 93, 1948, page 538.] when Ernest Constant Declercq, Valentine’s father and a close friend of Gabrielle Demedts’ parents, had died.
References
Bibliography
* Een gevangene zingt (1937) (The prisoner sings)
* Een twijg in de wind (1939) (A twig in the wind)
* Morgen is alles uit (1940) (Tomorrow all is over)
* Verloren thuis (1946) (Lost home)
* De doorgang (1957) (Trespass)
* Levensberichten en liederen (1974) (Poems and Songs about life)
* Klanken van eeuwigheid in aardse stem (1974) (Songs of eternity in an earthly voice)
* Verzamelde gedichten (1979) (Collected poems)
External links
Biography and Bibliography Iris Van de Casteele, De Poëzietuin, 11 februari 1994
Louis' Thuispagina – VLAAMSE SCHRIJVERS
Biography and Bibliographygedichten.nl: biografie
BibliographyBibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demedts, Gabrielle
1909 births
2002 deaths
20th-century Belgian poets
Belgian women poets
20th-century Belgian women writers