Johan Geeraard Adriaan T'Hooft (9 May 1956 – 6 October 1977) was a Flemish Belgian neo-romantic

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 wri ...

. He is well known for his hippie/ junkie lifestyle, death-related poetry and early death at age 21 from a drug-related suicide. These elements have made him a legend in his native country. His life and death by overdose were made into a movie, the English title ''Junkie's Sorrow''.

Life

Jotie T'Hooft was born in

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, H ...

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 th ...

. He was an only child. During his younger years, he was an excellent student, but had difficulties adjusting to life as a secondary school student. He was expelled from several schools by the time he was 14. It is then that he sought safety in literature, especially the works of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

and

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', '' Steppenwolf'', '' Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', each of which explores an individual's ...

, and in drugs. He moved out at age 17 to study in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

. However, his drug habit prevented him from ever beginning his studies. In 1973 T'Hooft made his first suicide attempt. He married in 1974. His father-in-law, Julien Weverbergh, was head of publishing company Manteau who agreed to publish his works.

Death

Despite his literary notability T'Hooft kept struggling with his drug problems. In 1977 he died from an overdose of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

. He had written a goodbye message to his wife on the wall and left his pick-up recorder playing ''

The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...

'' by

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

on repeat. T' Hooft was only 21 at the time.

Works

The most recurring theme in his poetry is

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, which obsessed him from a young age. This is perfectly characterized by a phrase from one of his poems: ''I am the world, in me the death flower has awoken unstoppably''. According to his poetry, he sees himself as a stranger; the world is a foreign place to him. T'Hooft also wrote various essays about his favorite rock artists, including

, Frank Zappa and

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

. In 1974 he and a friend also made an obscure comic strip, satirizing

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

and

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

Alter ego

Jotie used the alter ego Charles Louis Daenen and performed as this character during his earliest poetry recitals.

References

External links