Hans Andreus (21 February 1926,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

– 9 June 1977,

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) was the pseudonym of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

poet and writer Johan Wilhelm van der Zant. Van der Zant was born in Amsterdam. His parents divorced soon after his birth, his mother remarried, and the family lived in

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...

between 1930 and 1937 before moving back to Amsterdam. He started to write poems in 1939, and dropped out of school in 1940. In 1945, he studied for a while at the Amsterdamse Toneelschool, but also dropped out in 1947. Afterwards he worked as a corrector with

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. Andreus' debut work, the poetry book 'Muziek voor Kijkdieren', came out in 1951. His work is seen as part of the Dutch/Belgian literary movement known as 'De Vijftigers', a group of young poets started in the late 40s and connected to the COBRA movement, which also included

Lucebert Lucebert (; Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk; 15 September 1924 – 10 May 1994) was a Dutch artist who first became known as the poet of the COBRA movement. He was born in Amsterdam in 1924. He entered the Institute for Arts and Crafts in 193 ...

and

Hugo Claus Hugo Maurice Julien Claus (; 5 April 1929 – 19 March 2008) was a leading Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, and poetry; he also l ...

. Besides poetry, Andreus also wrote a large number of children's books, the best known series of which revolves around the character 'Meester Pompelmoes'. Andreus stories for children are full of fantastical themes, playful, and written in a lyrical, rhythmical style. He received a number of prizes for his children's books, including a '

Zilveren Griffel The Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands. History Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Stichting Collectieve Prop ...

' prize for his poetry book 'De Rommeltuin' and his book 'Meester Pompelmoes en de mompelpoes' won the CNPB Children's Book of the Year award in 1969 (a predecessor of the

Gouden Griffel The Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands. History Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Stichting Collectieve Prop ...

). He also wrote a number of

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

s, TV scripts and commercials, novels, and a novella.

References

1926 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Dutch poets 20th-century Dutch male writers Dutch children's writers Dutch male poets Writers from Amsterdam 20th-century pseudonymous writers {{Netherlands-writer-stub