Herman Brusselmans

Herman Frans Martha Brusselmans (; born 9 October 1957) is a Belgian novelist, poet, playwright and columnist. He lives in Ghent. He is one of the best-selling authors in Flanders, but controversial at the same time for his profane language and offensive comedy.

Life and career

Herman Brusselmans studied Germanic philology at the University of Ghent. In his early twenties he was a football player. He played as a left winger for Vigor Hamme and Sporting Lokeren. He now has his own football team called "De Woody's", after his late dog Woody. Brusselmans married Gloria Van Iddergem in 1981 but divorced from her ten years later. He married his second wife Tania De Metsenaere in 2005. Their relationship ended in 2010. In March 2016 he met his current girlfriend with whom he now lives together in his home in Gent. Although it's known her given name is Lena, her family name remains undisclosed up until this day. Their relationship generated a lot of media attention in Flandres because of their age difference of almost 34 years.

Brusselmans gained widespread popularity in the early 1980s as part of the new generation of young Flemish novelists that included Tom Lanoye and Kristien Hemmerechts.

Although Herman Brusselmans once stated in the Flemish magazine ''HUMO'' that he would stop writing about existing people and situations, his work kept on being highly autobiographical. Alcohol, sex and boredom are recurring themes throughout his work.

Not only his work contributed to his stardom, but also his media appearances. He used to have his own television show, and still appears regularly on talk shows. He also has a weekly column in HUMO. Bold, straightforward statements and comments have become his trademark throughout the years and don't fail to attract attention, what cost him several lawsuits, the most memorable of which was when Ann Demeulemeester, a Belgian fashion designer, filed a complaint with the courts about a derogatory remark about her in '' Uitgeverij Guggenheimer''. This led to a temporary recall of the book in Belgium.

He played an autistic Hells Angel painting surrealist slogans on caravans in the movie ''Camping Cosmos'' (1996).

In the 1980s he wrote some scripts for comics by Erik Meynen.

In early 2007 a film adaptation of Brusselman's novel '' Ex Drummer'' was released, directed by Koen Mortier.

Partial bibliography

*1982 ''Het zinneloze zeilen'' (stories) "Senseless Sailing"
*1984 ''Prachtige ogen'' (novel) "Beautiful Eyes"
*1985 '' De man die werk vond'' (novel) "The man who found a job"
*1986 ''Heden ben ik nuchter'' (novel) "Today I am sober"
*1987 ''Zijn er kanalen in Aalst?'' (novel) "Are There Canals in Aalst?"
*1988 ''De Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse Letterkunde.'' "The History of Flemish Literature"
*1988 ''Iedere zondag sterven en doodgaan in de week'' (short novel) "Passing away every Sunday and dying in the week"
*1989 ''Dagboek van een vermoeide egoïst'' (novel) "Diary of a Jaded Egoist"
*1989 ''De Canadese muur'' (play), together with Tom Lanoye "The Canadian Wall"
*1989 ''De Geschiedenis van de Wereldliteratuur'' (columns) "History of World Literature"
*1990 ''Vlucht voor mij'' (novel)"Run From Me"
*1991 ''Ex-schrijver'' (novel) "Ex-Writer"
*1992 ''Het mooie kotsende meisje'' (stories) "The Pretty Puking Girl"
*1993 ''Ex-minnaar'' (novel) "Ex-Lover"
*1994 ''Ex-drummer'' (novel) "Ex-Drummer"
*1994 ''Het oude nieuws van deze tijden'' (novel) "Nowadays old news"
*1995 ''De terugkeer van Bonanza'' (novel) "The Return of Bonanza"
*1995 ''Vrouwen met een IQ'' (novel) "Women with an IQ"
*1996 ''Autobiografie van iemand anders'' (novel) "Autobiography of Someone Else"
*1996 ''Guggenheimer wast witter'' (novel) "Guggenheimer Washes Whiter"
*1997 ''Meisjes hebben grotere borsten dan jongens.'' (children's poetry) "Girls Have Bigger Breasts Than Boys"
*1997 ''Zul je mij altijd graag zien?'' (autobiography) "Will you love me forever?"
*1997 ''Logica voor idioten'' (semi-autobiographical novel) "Logics for idiots"
*1998 ''Bloemen op mijn graf'' (collection of stories, columns, poetry, etc.) "Flowers on my grave"
*1998 ''Nog drie keer slapen en ik word wakker'' (novel) "Sleeping three more times and I'll wake up"
*1999 ''Het einde van mensen in 1967'' (stories) "The end of people in 1967"
*1999 ''Uitgeverij Guggenheimer'' (novel) "Publisher Guggenheimer"
*2000 ''Vergeef mij de liefde'' (novel) "Forgive me the love"
*2000 ''De koffer'' (comic book) "The suitcase"
*2001 ''Pitface'' (novel)
*2002 ''De Kus in de Nacht'' (novel) "The Kiss in the Night"
*2002 ''Mank'' (novel) "Limping"
*2003 ''De Droogte'' (novel) "The Drought"
*2004 ''Ik ben rijk en beroemd en heb nekpijn'' (novel)"I'm rich and famous and have a neckache"
*2004 ''In de knoei'' (novel) "In trouble"
*2004 ''Heilige schrik'' (Collection of columns published in ''HUMO'') "Holy fear"
*2005 ''Het spook van Toetegaai'' (novel) "The ghost of Toetegaai"
*2006 ''De dollartekens in de ogen van Moeder Theresa'' (short story) "The dollar signs in the eyes of Mother Teresa"
*2007 ''Muggepuut'' (novel)
*2008 ''Toos'' (novel)
*2009 ''Mijn haar is lang'' (novel) "My hair is long"
*2009 ''Kaloemmerkes in de zep'' (novel) "Tadpoles in the gutter"
*2010 ''Trager dan de snelheid'' (novel)"Slower than speed"
*2010 ''Vragen van liefde'' (short story) "Questions of love"
*2011 ''Van drie tot zes'' (novel) "From three to six"
*2011 ''De biografie van John Muts'' (novel) "The biography of John Muts"
*2012 ''Watervrees tijdens een verdrinking'' (novel) "Fear of water during drowning"
*2012 ''Guggenheimer in de mode'' (novel) "Guggenheimer in fashion"
*2013 ''Mogelijke memoires'' (novel) "Possible memoirs"
*2013 ''De Qualastofont ''(novel) "The Qualastofont"
*2014 ''Zeik'' (detective novel) "Zeik"
*2014 ''Poppy en Eddie'' (novel) "Poppy and Eddie"
*2014 ''Poppy en Eddie en Manon'' (novel) "Poppy and Eddie and Manon"
*2015 ''Zeik en de moord op de poetsvrouw van Hugo Claus'' (detective novel) "Zeik and the murder on Hugo Claus' housekeeper"
*2016 ''Zeik en het lijk op de dijk'' (detective novel) "Zeik and the corpse on the dike"
*2016 ''Poppy en Eddie en Manon en Roy Harper'' (novel) "Poppy and Eddie and Manon and Roy Harper"
*2016 ''Nul-Nul'' (stories) "Zero-Zero"
*2016 ''De Fouten'' (autobiography) "The Errors"
*2017 ''Guggenheimer koopt een neger'' (novel) "Guggenheimer buys a black man"
*2017 ''Hij schreef te weinig boeken'' (novel) "He wrote too few books"

See also

* Flemish literature

References

External links

Herman Brusselmans website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brusselmans, Herman
1957 births
Living people
Belgian columnists
Belgian male novelists
Belgian male poets
20th-century Belgian writers
21st-century Belgian writers
Flemish poets
Belgian satirists
Belgian humorists
Belgian comics writers
Belgian erotica writers
Ghent University alumni
People from Hamme
Writers from Ghent
20th-century Belgian male writers
Controversies in Belgium