Eugène Drenthe
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Eugène Constantijn Donders Drenthe (12 December 1925 in
Laarwijk Laarwijk is a settlement and a former sugar plantation in the Commewijne District in Suriname. Laarwijk is situated along the Suriname River and can only be reached by boat (via Domburg). History Laarwijk was founded in 1737. The government bou ...
, Surinam – 30 March 2009 in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
,
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 ...
) was a prominent
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
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 writte ...
and
playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
.


Biography

Drenthe was born in
Laarwijk Laarwijk is a settlement and a former sugar plantation in the Commewijne District in Suriname. Laarwijk is situated along the Suriname River and can only be reached by boat (via Domburg). History Laarwijk was founded in 1737. The government bou ...
, Surinam, as an illegitimate child of Louise Drenthe and the local police officer who was also the parish clerk. Drenthe used to talk about it as if it was normal. This down-to-earth attitude also characterized his plays which showed the normal life of the Creoles in Suriname. The plays were successful, ''Geheim in het gezin'' was performed 57 times in Suriname. Drenthe produced 25 plays in all, which include ''Rudy'' (1959), ''Kedjaman'' (1969) and ''Djomp abra'' (1977). From 1968 onwards, the plays of Drenthe were being performed outside of Suriname. First to
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 ...
,
Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
, and
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, and later to the Netherlands. Drenthe was one of the founding members and first president of
NAKS ''NAKS'' (Sranan Tongo: , en, Our African Culture of Suriname) is a social and cultural organization which promotes Afro-Surinamese culture and expression in Suriname and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1948 with Eugène Drenthe as it ...
. NAKS was founded in 1948 as a social and cultural organization which promotes Afro-Surinamese culture and expression. In 1982 Drenthe started to publish poetry 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 ...
. His first publication was ''Skuma/Schuim'' (1982). Drenthe was offered a knighthood in the
Order of Orange Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
in 1972, but refused to accept it, because he had done nothing special. He moved to 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 ...
in 1977. He died on 30 March 2009 in Rotterdam, at the age of 83.


See also

*
Surinamese literature Surinamese literature refers to the literature which is considered to belong to both the oral traditions as well as Surinamese written literature. The oral literature is still a vital and authentic expression in Surinamese culture. In turn, the inf ...


References


External links


Eugène Drenthe at Suriname View Literature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drenthe, Eugene 1925 births 2009 deaths People from Commewijne District Surinamese poets Surinamese dramatists and playwrights 20th-century poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Writers in Sranan Tongo