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Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from
Guido Gezelle archives
by Bruges Public Library (in English, includes poems in translation) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gezelle, Guido 1830 births 1899 deaths Writers from Bruges Flemish poets Flemish activists Flemish priests Belgian Catholic poets 19th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Belgian poets 19th-century Belgian male writers
Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the ...
. He is famous for the use of the West Flemish dialect.
Life
Gezelle was born inBruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population.
The area of the whole city ...
in the province of 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 ...
to Monica Devrieze and Pieter Jan Gezelle, a gardener.
The Flemish writer Stijn Streuvels (Frank Lateur) was a nephew of his. Gezelle was ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
a priest in 1854, and worked as a teacher at the Minor Seminary, Roeselare. He was always interested in all things English and became the chaplain to the . He died there in a small room, where it is still forbidden to enter.
There is a museum of his works close by and also a small bar named after him.
He tried to develop an independent Flemish language, more or less separate from the general Dutch language, which had certain more "Hollandic
Hollandic or Hollandish ( ) is the most widely spoken dialect of the Dutch language. Hollandic is among the Central Dutch dialects. Other important language varieties of spoken Low Franconian languages are Brabantian, Flemish (East Flemish, W ...
" aspects. The Dutch he used in his poems was heavily influenced by the local West Flemish dialect. His works are often inspired by his mystic love towards God and Creation. Later, his poetry was associated with literary Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passag ...
, and he is considered a forerunner of that movement.
Gezelle also was a translator of poetry and prose, most famous now for his translation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tra ...
's ''Song of Hiawatha'', published in 1886. He had already read the original at Roeselare in 1856 and was interested in it because on the one hand, the American Indians fascinated him, and, on the other, he liked its portrayal of Christian missionaries.
For his linguistic mastery, Gezelle is considered one of the most important poets of Dutch literature.
Bibliography
* ''Kerkhofblommen'' (1858) * ''Vlaemsche Dichtoefeningen'' (1858) * ''Kleengedichtjes'' (1860) * ''Gedichten, Gezangen en Gebeden'' (1862) * ''Longfellows Song of Hiawatha'' (translation, 1886) * ''Tijdkrans'' (1893) * ''Rijmsnoer'' (1897) * ''Laatste Verzen'' (1901)See also
*Flemish literature Flemish literature is literature from Flanders, historically a region comprising parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Until the early 19th century, this literature was regarded as an integral part of Dutch literature. After Bel ...
References
External links
* *Guido Gezelle archives
by Bruges Public Library (in English, includes poems in translation) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gezelle, Guido 1830 births 1899 deaths Writers from Bruges Flemish poets Flemish activists Flemish priests Belgian Catholic poets 19th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Belgian poets 19th-century Belgian male writers