Maria Johanna Francisca Renée "Noni" Lichtveld (3 May 1929 – 16 August 2017) was a Dutch-Surinamese author, illustrator and scenic designer.

Biography

Lichtveld was the second daughter of the

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se author

Lou Lichtveld Lodewijk 'Lou' Lichtveld (7 November 1903 – 10 July 1996) was a Surinamese politician, playwright, poet and resistance fighter who wrote under the pseudonym "Albert Helman". He gained notability in 1923 when he published the poetry colle ...

(also known as "Albert Helman") and Dutch author Leni Mengelberg. The family lived near

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

from 1932 to October 1936, when Mengelberg returned to the Netherlands with the children because of her husband's infidelity and the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Her mother remarried with architect Benjamin Merkelbach in 1940. Lichtveld attended drawing training at the

Rietveld Academy The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The academy was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design. History In 1924, the I ...

and studied at the French trade union of scenic designers, ''Syndicat des Décorateurs de Théatre'' in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After her study, she provided the sets for many Dutch theater companies and worked with theater greats such as

Erwin Piscator Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator (17 December 1893 – 30 March 1966) was a German theatre director and producer. Along with Bertolt Brecht, he was the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of ...

and

Sonia Gaskell Sonia Gaskell (14 April 1904 – 9 July 1974) was a Lithuanian-Dutch-Jewish dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, ballet and dance director. Life and career Sonia Gaskell was born in Vilkaviškis, Russian Empire (now located in Lithuania), to Ru ...

. In addition to sets, she made murals and illustrations and covers for (children's) books, both in Suriname and the Netherlands. A wall mosaic of hers can be seen in Huize Frankendael from 1957, the year that her stepfather, as city architect of

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 ...

, received it as an official residence. From 1958 to 1964, Lichtveld lived with her husband, actor and director Ton Verwey, in Suriname when he was sent there by the Foundation for Cultural Cooperation. There, in 1960, she and Wilfred Teixeira were the first teachers of a series of courses leading to the founding of the School of Dramatic Art on April 23, 1965. Lichtveld made her writing debut in 1984 with the children's book '' Anansi. De spin weeft zich een web om de wereld'' ("Anansi. The spider weaves a web around the world"). For this collection of short stories she received the Dutch award Vlag en Wimpel. In 1987, together with Gerda Havertong, she received the

E. du Perron Charles Edgar du Perron, more commonly known as E. du Perron, was an influential Dutch poet and author of Indo-European descent. He is best known for his literary acclaimed masterpiece ''Land van herkomst'' (''Land of origin'') of 1935. Together ...

Prize for the preservation and dissemination of the Anansi story. The prize money (2,500 guilders) was invested in 1988 in a study trip to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, where Lichtveld searched for Anansi stories. Lichtveld died on 16 August 2017 in the Rosa Spier Huis in Laren, where she spent the last years of her life.

Bibliography

* '' Anansi. De spin weeft zich een web om de wereld'' (1984) * ''Anansi en die andere beesten'' (1985) * ''Verhalen van Surinaamse schrijvers'' (1989) * ''Mijn pijl bleef in de kankantri'' (1993) * ''Anansi tussen god en duivel'' (1997) ;Illustrations * Mies Bouhuys, ''De dromendoos'' (1955) * Mies Bouhuys, ''De wijzen uit het Oosten: de tocht van de wijze mannen naar de stal van Bethlehem'' (1967) * Mies Bouhuys, ''Een sprietje groen: het verhaal van de profeet Jesaja'' (1967) * Mies Bouhuys, ''De gebroken kruik: het verhaal van de profeet Jeremia'' (1968) * Mies Bouhuys, ''De lange reis: het verhaal van de uittocht uit Egypte'' (1968) * M.Th. Hijlaard, ''Zij en ik'' (1978) * Edgar Cairo, ''Ik ga dood om jullie hoofd'' (1980) * Dolf Verroen and Nannie Kuiper, ''Ons Surinaamse ik'' (1984) *

Johan Ferrier Johan Henri Eliza Ferrier (12 May 1910 – 4 January 2010) was a Surinamese politician who served as the 1st president of Suriname from 1975 to 1980. He was also the country's last governor-general before independence, serving from 1968 to 197 ...

, ''Het grote Anansi boek'' (1986) *

Thea Doelwijt Thea Doelwijt (born December 3, 1938) is a Surinamese-Dutch writer. Life Doelwijt's father was Surinamese and her mother was Dutch. She came to Suriname in 1961 where she worked as a journalist for the newspaper, ''Suriname''. She was editor ...

, ''Volksverhalen uit kleurrijk Nederland'' (1990) *

Diana Lebacs Diana Melinda Lebacs (12 September 1947 – 11 July 2022) was a Curaçaoan educator, actress, and author, most known for her children's literature. She wrote in both Papiamento and Dutch. In 1976 she received the (Silver Stylus) award, one of ...

, ''De verhalenboom: verhalen uit alle windstreken voor kinderen van 5 tot 99 jaar'' (1997)

References

External links

Noni Lichtveld at the Digital Library for Dutch Literature

Story Time: I Lost My Arrow in a Kankan Tree
short illustrated article on Lichtveld's book from the

Fowler Museum The Fowler Museum at UCLA, commonly known as The Fowler, and formerly Museum of Cultural History and Fowler Museum of Cultural History, is a museum on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) which explores art and material ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtveld, Noni 2017 deaths Dutch women children's writers Surinamese women children's writers Dutch people of Surinamese descent 1929 births People from Abcoude Dutch women illustrators Dutch children's writers Surinamese children's writers Surinamese artists Surinamese women writers