Michaël Arnoldus Slory (4 August 1935 in Totness, Surinam – 19 December 2018 in Paramaribo,

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

) was a

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He mainly wrote poetry in

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (Sranantongo, "Surinamese tongue", Sranan, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language from Suriname, in South America, where it is the first or second language for 519,600 Surinamese people (approximately 80% of the popu ...

, and is considered one of the most important poets in Sranan Tongo. He also published in Dutch, English and Spanish

Biography

In 1947, Slory moved to Paramaribo from his birth place Totness, and went to the Algemene Middelbare School which is comparable to

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, but does not qualify for university. His teacher encouraged him to write not only in Dutch, but also Sranan Tongo and Spanish. While in high school, he published his first three Dutch poems in the magazine ''Tongoni''. In 1958, Slory moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

to study a course in Spanish at a private school. After graduating, he enrolled in the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

where he joined Vereniging Ons Suriname. His poetry can be found in the

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of Annual publication, a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually ...

s of the time. Ons Suriname was during that period, the centre for the Surinamese nationalist movement. Slory also gained access to the Dutch literary world, and befriended authors like Harry Mulisch and Hugo Claus. In 1961, he published his first work ''Sarka / Bittere strijd'' under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Asjantenoe Sangodare, with the communist publisher Pegasus. ''Sarka / Bittere strijd'' was bilingual with the poems printed both in Dutch and Sranan Tongo, and expressed his sympathy for

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

. The work is dedicated to Patrice Lumumba, and introduced by Theun de Vries. His scholarship was revoked in 1966, and Slory decided to focus on writing. He published ''Brieven aan de Guerrilla'' (1968), and ''Brieven aan Ho Tsji Minh'' (1968). In 1970, Slory returned to Suriname and only wanted to write in Sranan Tongo. Slory started with ''Fraga mi wortoe'' (1970), and 20 more publications followed. His style started to change as well. The major themes are no longer nationalism and social equality, but love started to become a major theme in his poetry. Slory started to become disenchanted with the events after the independence of Suriname. In 1982, Slory had another change of mind, and started to write in Dutch and Spanish. He released ''Poemas contra la agonía'' (1988), ''Een andere weg'' (1991) among others. During his lifetime, he published more than 30 works, and several thousand poems. In 1985, Slory was awarded the Suriname State Price for Literature for his love poem ''Fresko en Efu na Kodyo''. In 1993, his poem ''Sarka'' was set to music by Gerda Geertens. In 1995, NPS created a television program about Michaël Slory ''En nu de droom over is.. de Surinaamse dichter Michael Slory''. Even though Slory was lauded by literary critics, he always remained well below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, and often sold his books in the street. Slory was grateful that he received a monthly allowance from De Ware Tijd for his many contributions to ''DWT-Literair'' after retiring. On 19 December 2018, Slory died in Paramaribo, and on 28 December received a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

References

External links

Michaël Slory at Digital Library for Dutch Literature
(''Ik zal zingen om de zon te laten opkomen'' available as free download)
Michaël Slory at Werkgroup Caraïbische Letteren
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slory, Michaël 1935 births 2018 deaths 20th-century poets People from Coronie District Surinamese poets Writers from Amsterdam Writers in Sranan Tongo

Biography

See also

References

External links