Gerrit Achterberg (20 May 1905 – 17 January 1962) was a Dutch

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. His early poetry concerned a desire to be united with a beloved in death. Achterberg was born in

Nederlangbroek Langbroek is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Wijk bij Duurstede, and lies about 11 km southeast of Zeist. The village is the merger of Overlangbroek and Nederlangbroek Until it merged with Wi ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as the third son of a family of eight children. He was raised as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

within the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

tradition. His father was a

coachman A coachman is an employee who drives a coach or carriage, a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of passengers. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full c ...

until the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

gained popularity. Achterberg was a very good student, and in 1924 he embarked on a career as a teacher. In the same year, he made his literary debut together with Arie Dekkers, who had encouraged him to write, together publishing ''De Zangen van Twee Twintigers'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''The Songs of Two Twenty-Somethings''). Meanwhile, Achterberg became more withdrawn and introverted. After he was turned down by the military due to "sickness of the soul", he threatened to kill himself. Achterberg's literary career began to take off when presented himself as his mentor. Achterberg published his collection "Afvaart" in 1931, in which his famous theme, of a love irrevocably lost, was already strongly present. After the publication of "Afvaart", Achterberg suffered a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

and was committed to a

psychiatric institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

several times. His mental instability caused occasional violent outbursts. These eruptions of violence escalated in 1937. At that time, Achterberg was living in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

and was again engaged to be married. On December 15, 1937, he tried to force himself on Bep van Es, the 16 year old daughter of his landlady. When the latter tried to stop him, he shot and killed her, and wounded her daughter. After the shooting, he turned himself in and was sentenced to

involuntary commitment Involuntary commitment, civil commitment, or involuntary hospitalization/hospitalisation is a legal process through which an individual who is deemed by a qualified agent to have symptoms of severe mental disorder is detained in a psychiatric hos ...

. He was committed until 1943. During this commitment and the period following (between 1939 and 1953), he published 22 collections of poetry. In 1946 he married his childhood friend Cathrien van Baak, with whom he lived in

Leusden Leusden () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort. The western part of the municipality lies on the slopes of the Utrecht Hill Ridge and is largely cov ...

until he died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1962. In 1959, Achterberg received the

Constantijn Huygens Prize The Constantijn Huygens Prize (Dutch: ''Constantijn Huygens-prijs'') is a Dutch literary award.Ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

''Reiziger doet Golgotha'' (''A Tourist Does Golgotha'') and the

sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...

sequence ''Ballade van de gasfitter'' (1953;''Ballad of the gasfitter''). J.M. Coetzee included this sonnet sequence in an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

of his English translations of Dutch poetry entitled ''Landscape with Rowers'' (2004). Earlier in his career, Coetzee also wrote an

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

on this sonnet sequence, titled: 'Achterberg's "Ballade van de gasfitter": The Mystery of I and You' (1977),in which he discusses the shifting point of view in relation the main character of the poem. The essay is included in: J.M. Coetzee, ''Doubling the Point'', Harvard University Press 1992, p.69-90.

References

External links

Dutch Royal Library - Detailed Biography and Bibliography in DutchFile Gerrit Achterberg in the Digital Library of Dutch Literature (DBNL)
(including bibliography, primary and secondary texts) {{DEFAULTSORT:Achterberg, Gerrit 1905 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Dutch poets 20th-century Dutch male writers Dutch male poets Constantijn Huygens Prize winners P. C. Hooft Award winners People from Wijk bij Duurstede

See also

References

External links