Henri Frans de Ziel (15 January 1916 – 3 February 1975), working under the pen name of Trefossa, was a neoromantic writer 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 ...

and

Sranan Tongo Sranan Tongo (also Sranantongo "Surinamese tongue," Sranan, Surinaams, Surinamese, Surinamese Creole) is an English-based creole language that is spoken as a ''lingua franca'' by approximately 550,000 people in Suriname. Developed originally amo ...

from

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 ...

. He is best known for the Sranan Tongo stanzas of Suriname's National Anthem.

Biography

He was an educator and lived in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1953 to 1956. Upon his return to Suriname he was part of the editorial staff of the magazines ''Tongoni'' (1958-1959) and ''Soela'' (1962-1964). He also served briefly as the director-librarian of Suriname's Cultural Centre (Cultureel Centrum Suriname (CCS)). He subsequently returned to the Netherlands to work on the publication of

Johannes King Johannes King (born: Adiri circa 1830 - 24 October 1898), was the first Maroon missionary, and the first important writer in Sranan Tongo. King belonged to the Matawai tribe, and performed his missionary activities for the Moravian Church. Biogra ...

's memoirs. Trefossa wrote primarily about the beauty of his native country, Suriname, especially as a source of peace to the restless mind. He influenced many writers in Suriname, including Corly Verlooghen, Eugène Rellum,

Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout Johanna Schouten-Elsenhout (11 July 1910 – 23 July 1992) was a Surinamese poet and an eminent community leader who fought for acknowledgement of Sranan and of the Afro-Surinamese culture. Life Schouten-Elsenhout was born in Paramaribo in 1910. ...

and

Michaël Slory Michaël Arnoldus Slory (4 August 1935 in Totness, Surinam – 19 December 2018 in Paramaribo, Suriname) was a Surinamese poet. He mainly wrote poetry in Sranan Tongo, and is considered one of the most important poets in Sranan Tongo. He also pu ...

, but the depth and subtlety of his verse remain almost unique. Trefossa was annoyed about the negative nuance in the National Anthem at time, and started to transform the second

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

into a positive message. Trefossa combined this with a poem he wrote in Sranan Tongo on the death of Ronald Elwin Kappel. His

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

was unanimously approved by the Government of

on 7 December 1959. De Ziel originally used a melody by

Johannes Helstone Johannes Helstone, born ''Nicodemus Johannes Helstone'' (11 January 1853 – 24 April 1927), was a Surinamese composer, pianist and writer. He is best known for his 1906 opera ''Het Pand der Goden''. Biography Helstone was born on the Moravian ...

, however the government preferred the original 1876 melody. In 1969, his health started to deteriorate, and he was admitted to the

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

Zonneduin in

Bloemendaal Bloemendaal () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Bloemendaal is, together with Wassenaar, the wealthiest place in the Netherlands. In October 2015, after persistent problems with the local governa ...

. Here he met his wife, Hulda Walser, whom he married in 1970. On 3 Februari 1975, de Ziel died in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

. On 21 November 2005, a monument was dedicated in his honour on the Sophie Redmondstraat in Paramaribo. His ashes and the ashes of his wife, Hulda Walser, were also placed at the monument. A documentary film, ''Trefossa: I Am Not I'' (Trefossa: Mi a no mi), by filmmaker

Ida Does Ida Does (born 1955) is a Surinamese-born, Dutch journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. After working at Omroep West (TV West) as a reporter, editor-in-chief, and program director, she began making independent films, mainly focused on art ...

, was produced in 2008.

Poem

The poem by Trefossa, referenced in the external link about the mural at the bottom, is translated from Sranan into English below:

References

Sources

Michiel van Kempen Michaël Henricus Gertrudis (Michiel) van Kempen (born 4 April 1957) is a Dutch writer, art historian and literary critic. He has written novels, short stories, essays, travel literature and scenarios. He was the compiler of a huge range of antho ...

: ''Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur.'' De Geus, Breda 2003, .
According to the Dutch page of this article,

has given Wikipedia permission to use the above mentioned work.

External links

H.F. de Ziel at Digital Library for Dutch Literature
(''Ala poewema foe Trefossa'', a biography in Dutch, is available as free download)
Trefossa at Werkgroup Caraïbische Letteren
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziel, Henri Frans de 1916 births 1975 deaths People from Paramaribo Surinamese male writers Surinamese poets 20th-century poets Writers in Sranan Tongo