Pierre Lauffer (22 August 1920 – 14 June 1981) was a Curaçaoan writer and poet who mainly wrote in

Papiamentu Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

. He is considered one of the greatest poets of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

Biography

Lauffer was born on 22 August 1920 as Pierre Antoine Lauffer. He graduated from the Mulo (junior high school) in 1936, and started various jobs as a civil servant, a military policeman, and an undertaker. During this time, he was writing stories and poetry as a hobby. His first publication was a story in

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 ...

for the magazine ''De Stoep''. In 1944 ''Patria'', his first poetry collection in

, was published. It received a negative review from ''De Stoep'' who questioned the usefulness of a poetry book which a mere 100,000 people could read. In 1950, Lauffer co-founded the magazine ''Simadán'' written entirely in Papiamentu in order to compete with ''De Stoep''. The magazine would only have three editions. In 1955, he published ''Kumbu'' with rhythmic poetry. It was the first publication of

modernist poetry Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases ...

in Papiamentu with an emphasis on the emotional value of the words. In 1964, Lauffer published ''Kantika pa Bientu'' for which he was awarded a prize by the Cultural Centre Curaçao. The publications were not a commercial success given the limited market, and in 1965, Lauffer became an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

school teacher. At the age of 47, he fell in love with an 18-year-old woman, and married for the second time. The marriage didn't last, and his poetry became more

melancholic Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout History of medicine#Greece and Roman Empire, ancient, medieval medicine of Western Europe, medieval and Lear ...

. In 1969, Lauffer was awarded the

Cola Debrot Prize Nicolaas (Cola) Debrot (4 May 1902 – 3 December 1981) was a writer, lawyer, medical doctor and politician. Biography Debrot was born in Kralendijk, the son of a plantation owner. In 1904 he moved from Bonaire to Curaçao, and then when he was ...

for his poetry. In 1970, he became a Papiamentu teacher at the Pedagogical Academy. In his later years, Lauffer started to write children's books in Papiamentu, because he felt that children were being neglected by the few Papiamentu writers. Lauffer died on 14 June 1981, at the age of 60.

Legacy

On 16 July 1981, Fundashon Pierre Lauffer was established in his honour to promote Papiamentu. The Premio Bienal Pierre Lauffer is a biannual prize for people who have earned merits for the advancement of Papiamentu. In 1982, the Mgr Zwijssen College where Lauffer used to teach was renamed Kolegio Pierre Lauffer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lauffer, Pierre 1920 births 1981 deaths Place of birth missing Curaçao educators Curaçao writers Curaçao poets Curaçao children's writers Papiamento-language writers