J. Slauerhoff
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Jan Jacob Slauerhoff (15 September 1898 – 5 October 1936), who published as J. Slauerhoff, was a Dutch poet and novelist. He is considered one of the most important
Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
writers.


Youth

Slauerhoff attended HBS (secondary school) in
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...
, where he first met fellow future writer
Simon Vestdijk Simon Vestdijk (; 17 October 1898 – 23 March 1971) was a Dutch writer. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fifteen times. Life Born in the small Frisian town of Harlingen, Vestdijk studied medicine in Amsterdam, but turned t ...
, who, by the way, was from Harlingen. In 1916, Slauerhoff and Vestdijk both moved to
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 ...
to read medicine. While at the university, Slauerhoff wrote his first poems; his debut as a poet was in the Communist magazine '' De Nieuwe Tijd''. He edited the Amsterdam student magazine '' Propria Cures'' from 1919 to 1920. In 1919, Slauerhoff became engaged to a Dutch language student, Truus de Ruyter. In 1921 he joined the staff of the literary magazine '' Het Getij'' and later that of '' De Vrije Bladen''; in this period he became acquainted with poets
Hendrik Marsman Hendrik Marsman (30 September 1899, in Zeist – 21 June 1940, in Gulf of Biscay) was a Dutch poet and writer. He died while escaping to Great Britain, when the ship he was sailing on, the ', either suffered a fatal engine-room explosion, or wa ...
and
Hendrik de Vries Hendrik (Henry) de Vries (17 August 1896 in Groningen, Netherlands – 18 November 1989 in Haren, Netherlands) was a significant Dutch poet and painter. He was an early surrealist, was liberal-minded, and preached vitality. The subconscio ...
.


Early career

His first collection of verse, ''Archipel'' ("Archipelago"), was published in 1923. Afterwards, he started working as a medical doctor on board of ships, especially in South East Asia. Much of his work refers to travel, to longing for far coasts, to China and Japan, and to the sea.


Marriage, final years

His fame as a writer, meanwhile, spread. In 1932 he published ''Het verboden rijk'' ("The Forbidden Kingdom"), a partly
historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, partly magical realist novel combining the life of a 20th-century European with that of
Luís de Camões Luís Vaz de Camões (; sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or Camoëns, ; c. 1524 or 1525 – 10 June 1580) is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespear ...
, the 16th-century Portuguese poet (author of sonnets and the epic ''
The Lusiads ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'') who spent part of his life in the Orient. Despite not being translated into English until 2012, it attracted attention from scholars publishing in English, Jane Fenoulhet, for instance, referring to it as an important modernist novel in 2001. Both ''Het verboden rijk'' and the follow-up novel ''Het leven op aarde'' ("Life on Earth," 1934) were widely praised, and his 1933 verse collection ''Soleares'' was awarded the Van der Hoogt Prize.


Style and themes

Though Slauerhoff writes in the time of
expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, his poetry is, according to Garmt Stuiveling and G.J. van Bork, essentially romantic: strongly autobiographical, it evidences restlessness, imagination, and a longing for faraway places, expressed through an identification with tramps, discoverers, and pirates. Much of Slauerhoff's work is concerned with the poor and downtrodden; especially the poetry collections ''Archipel'' (1923), ''Eldorado'' (1928), ''Soleares'' (1933), and ''Een eerlijk zeemansgraf'' (1936). A performance of his play ''Jan Pietersz. Coen'' (1930), highly critical of
Jan Pieterszoon Coen Jan Pieterszoon Coen (, 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was an officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of Batavia, ...
(seventeenth-century officer of the
Dutch East India Company in Indonesia Company rule in the Dutch East Indies began when the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, "United East India Company"; VOC) appointed the first governor-general of the Dutch East Indies in 1610, and ended in 180 ...
and two-term
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...
), was prohibited by the mayor of Amsterdam in 1948.


Posthumous editions

Two works in progress that were nearly finished at the time of Slauerhoff's death, the original novel ''De opstand van Guadalajara'' ("The
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
Uprising") and the translation of
Martín Luis Guzmán Martín Luis Guzmán Franco (October 6, 1887 – December 22, 1976) was a Mexican novelist and journalist. Along with Mariano Azuela and Nellie Campobello, he is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel, a genre inspired by the experiences ...
's novel ''In de schaduw van den leider'' ("In the Shadow of the Leader"), were published
posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ...
ly in 1937. A Committee for the Preparation of Slauerhoff's Complete Works was put together and convened to compile his ''Complete Works''. This Committee, which consisted of leading literary figures, among which a number of friends of Slauerhoff, included D.A.M. Binnendijk,
Menno ter Braak Menno ter Braak (26 January 1902 – 14 May 1940) was a Dutch modernist writer, critic, essayist, and journalist. Early career Ter Braak was born in Eibergen and grew up in the town of Tiel where he was an exemplary student. He went on to t ...
, N.A. Donkersloot, J. Greshoff, Kees Lekkerkerker,
Hendrik Marsman Hendrik Marsman (30 September 1899, in Zeist – 21 June 1940, in Gulf of Biscay) was a Dutch poet and writer. He died while escaping to Great Britain, when the ship he was sailing on, the ', either suffered a fatal engine-room explosion, or wa ...
,
Adriaan Roland Holst Adriaan Roland Holst (Amsterdam, 23 May 1888 – Bergen, North Holland, 5 August 1976) was a Dutch writer, nicknamed the "Prince of Dutch Poets". He was the second winner, in 1948, of the Constantijn Huygens Prize. He was nominated for t ...
, and Constant van Wessem. Du Perron contributed a general outline for the ordering and grouping of the contents, but declined to participate further. Work progressed slowly and was further slowed down by the events of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The first volume appeared in 1941, one year behind schedule, and the series of eight volumes was not completed until 1958. Two of the Committee's members, Ter Braak and Marsman, died at the start of the war and the publisher,
Nijgh & Van Ditmar Nijgh & Van Ditmar is a Dutch publishing company, founded in 1837. In 2014 it was acquired by Singel Uitgeverijen. History The company was founded in 1837 in Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the seco ...
, lost faith halfway through the project, which resulted in the intended separate volume of
critical apparatus A critical apparatus ( la, apparatus criticus) in textual criticism of primary source material, is an organized system of notations to represent, in a single text, the complex history of that text in a concise form useful to diligent readers and ...
being scrapped and the last volume, containing Slauerhoff's essays, being published independently by Lekkerkerker. Lekkerkerker, ever the dedicated text researcher and caretaker of Slauerhoff's literary heritage, continued over the years to unearth and study Slauerhoff's
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
s and uncollected publications, resulting in ever better versions of the ''Complete Poems'' and ''Complete Prose'' volumes, culminating in the 1980s in the publication of editions of Slauerhoff's. In 2018 a complete version of all his poems was published (J. Slauerhoff - Verzamelde Gedichten.
Nijgh & Van Ditmar Nijgh & Van Ditmar is a Dutch publishing company, founded in 1837. In 2014 it was acquired by Singel Uitgeverijen. History The company was founded in 1837 in Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the seco ...
, editors Hein Aalders and Menno Voskuil, 1037 pages). Wim Hazeu, one of the main biographers of the Netherlands, published a new version of the Slauerhoff biography ( Arbeiderspers, 855 pages). The last two books were presented on 7 September 2018 in the Dorpskerk Huizum in Leeuwarden, because this city - birthplace of Slauerhoff - was in 2018 Cultural Capital of Europe. Slauerhoff's 1934 novel, ''Het leven op aarde'', was republished by Handheld Press in a new English translation by David McKay as ''Adrift In The Middle Kingdom'' in 2019.


Slauerhoff and Huizum

The small village
Huizum Huizum is a residential area of the municipality of Leeuwarden in the province of Friesland, Netherlands. It has approximately 9,000 inhabitants. Huizum was formerly part of Leeuwarderadeel and incorporates a former village. Description Huizum ha ...
in
Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
hosts the annual Slauerhoff Lecture. The church in Huizum holds a bronze bust of Slauerhoff's head, made by Ben van der Geest. Several family members of the poet, including his parents, are buried at the Huizum cemetery. The tombstone plate with the names of Slauerhoff's parents has been standing on a pedestal at the entrance of the Dorpskerk ever since the grave was cleared. The tombstone has been given this prominent place because one of Slauerhoff's longest poems (''In Memoriam Patris'', with 34 stanzas) is dedicated to the burial of his father at the same cemetery.


Bibliography


Translations (English)

* J.J. Slauerhoff: ''Adrift In The Middle Kingdom''. Transl. of ''Het leven op aarde'', by David McKay, introd. by Arie Pos. Handheld Press, 2019. * Jan Jacob Slauerhoff: ''The Forbidden Kingdom''. Transl. of ''Het verboden rijk'', by Paul Vincent. London, Pushkin, 2012.


Poetry

*''Archipel'' ("Archipelago", 1923) *''Clair-obscur'' (1927) *'' Oost-Azië'' ("East Asia", 1928, under ps. John Ravenswood) *''
Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
'' (1928) *'' Fleurs de Marécage'' ("Marsh Flowers", 1929, in French) *'' Saturnus'' ("Saturn", 1930, revised and enlarged re-issue of ''Clair-obscur'') *''Yoeng Poe Tsjoeng'' ("Of Little Use", translations from the Chinese and original poems, 1930) *''
Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian w ...
'' (1930) *'' Soleares'' (1933) *'' Een eerlijk zeemansgraf'' ("An Honorable Sailor's Grave", 1936) *''Verzamelde gedichten'' ("Collected Verse", 1947) *''Al dwalend'' ("Wandering About", previously uncollected poems, 1947) *''Alleen in mijn gedichten kan ik wonen'' ("Only in My Poems Can I Dwell", anthology, 1978) *''Op aarde niet en niet op zee'' ("Not on earth, and not at sea"), poems selected by
Henny Vrienten Henny Vrienten (27 July 1948 – 25 April 2022) was a Dutch musician best known as the singer and bassist of the popular 1980s ska pop band Doe Maar. He also composed television and film scores. Biography Early days Vrienten began his caree ...
(Amsterdam: Nijgh & Van Ditmar 2000. ) *''In memoriam mijzelf'' ("In Memory of Myself", anthology, 2006)


Prose


Original prose

*''Het Lente-eiland en andere verhalen'' ("The Isle of Spring and Other Stories", 1930,
short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
) *''Schuim en asch'' ("Spume and Ashes", 1930, short stories) *'' Het verboden rijk'' (1932, novel); translated into English by Paul Vincent as ''The Forbidden Kingdom'' (London: Pushkin, 2012, ) *''Het leven op aarde'' ("Life on Earth", 1934, novel) *''De opstand van Guadalajara'' ("The Guadalajara Uprising", 1937,
posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ...
ly published novel) *''Verzameld proza'' ("Collected Prose", 1961) *''Verwonderd saam te zijn'' ("Strange Bedfellows", 1987, short stories and a
one act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...
928–1935 *''Alleen de havens zijn ons trouw'' ("Only the Ports Are Loyal to Us", 1992,
travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...
short stories 927–1932


Translated prose

*
Ricardo Güiraldes Ricardo Güiraldes (13 February 1886 — 8 October 1927)Escuela Normal Superior de Chascomús was an Argentine novelist and poet, one of the most significant Argentine writers of his era, particularly known for his 1926 novel ''Don Segundo Sombra' ...
— ''Don Segundo Sombra'' (1930, 1941², 1948³; from Spanish with R. Schreuder) * José Maria de Eça de Queiroz — ''De misdaad van Pater Amaro'' ("Father Amaro's Crime", 1932; from
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
with R. Schreuder) * Guillermo Hernández Mir — ''De hof der oranjeboomen'' ("The Court with the Orange Trees", 1932; from Spanish with R. Schreuder) *
Paulo Setúbal Paulo de Oliveira Leite Setúbal (January 1, 1893 – May 4, 1937) was a Brazilian writer, lawyer, journalist, essayist and poet. He occupied the 31st chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( Engl ...
— ''Johan Maurits van Nassau'' ("
John Maurice of Nassau John Maurice of Nassau (Dutch: ''Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen''; German: ''Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen''; Portuguese: ''João Maurício de Nassau-Siegen''; 17 June 1604 – 20 December 1679), called "the Brazilian" for his fruitful period as ...
", 1933; from Portuguese by R. Schreuder with J. Slauerhoff) *
Ramón Gómez de la Serna Ramón Gómez de la Serna y Puig (3 July 1888 in Madrid – 13 January 1963 in Buenos Aires) was a Spanish writer, dramatist and avant-garde agitator. He strongly influenced surrealist film maker Luis Buñuel. Ramón Gómez de la Serna was esp ...
— ''Dokter hoe is het mogelijk'' ("Doctor Improbable", 1935; from Spanish) *
Martín Luis Guzmán Martín Luis Guzmán Franco (October 6, 1887 – December 22, 1976) was a Mexican novelist and journalist. Along with Mariano Azuela and Nellie Campobello, he is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel, a genre inspired by the experiences ...
— ''In de schaduw van den leider'' ("In the Shadow of the Leader", 1937; from Spanish with G.J. Geers, published posthumously) *
Jules Laforgue Jules Laforgue (; 16 August 1860 – 20 August 1887) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbo ...
— ''Hamlet, of De gevolgen der kinderliefde'' ("Hamlet, or The Consequences of Filial Love", 1962, 1970²; from French
928 Year 928 ( CMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Rudolph I loses the support of Herbert II, count of Vermandois, who controls the pr ...
*
Thomas Raucat Roger Poidatz (1894 – 14 August 1976) was a French writer best known by his pseudonym, Thomas Raucat. Roger Poidatz was born in Paris and graduated from the Paris École Polytechnique, subsequently becoming a pilot in the French Air Forc ...
— ''Twee verhalen'' ("Two Short Stories", 1974; from French
929 Year 929 ( CMXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 16 – Emir Abd-al-Rahman III of Córdoba proclaims himself caliph and create ...


Drama

*''Jan Pietersz. Coen'' (1931,
tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
)


Miscellaneous

*''Verzamelde werken'' ("Complete Works", 8 vols., 1941–1958) *''Brieven van Slauerhoff'' ("Letters from Slauerhoff", ed. by
Arthur Lehning Paul Arthur Müller-Lehning (23 October 1899, in Utrecht – 1 January 2000, in Lys-Saint-Georges) was a Dutch author, historian and anarchist. Arthur Lehning wrote noted French translations of Mikhail Bakunin. In 1992 he won the Gouden Ganzenve ...
, 1955) *''Dagboek'' ("Diary", ed. by Kees Lekkerkerker, 1957) *''Verzameld Proza'' ("Collected Prose"), 2 vols. (The Hague: Nijgh & Van Ditmar 1975. (vol. 1) and (vol. 2)) *''Slauerhoff student auteur'' ("Slauerhoff Student Writer",
prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...
and poetry from Slauerhoff's student days ed. by Eep Francken et al., 1983) *''Brieven aan Hans Feriz'' ("Letters to Hans Feriz", ed. Herman Vernout, 1984) *''Het China van Slauerhoff: aantekeningen en ontwerpen voor de Cameron-romans'' ("Slauerhoff's China – Notes and Outlines for the Cameron Novels", ed. W. Blok et al., 1985) *''Hij droeg de zee en de verte aan zich mee'' ("He Carried the Sea and the Distance with Him",
letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
ed. by J.J. van Herpen, 1985) *''Cristina Branco Canta Slauerhoff'' (Cristina Branco Sings Slauerhoff, 9 poems translated into Portuguese and put to Fado music, 2000) *''Van een liefde die vriendschap bleef'' ("Of a Love that Remained Friendship", letters ed. by Wim Hazeu, 2007) * ''Het heele leven is toch verloren'' ("Life Is a Lost Cause Anyway", poems, letters, diaries, ed. by Arie Pos et al.) *''Slauerhoff Biografie'' Wim Hazeu, 2018 *''J. Slauerhoff Verzamelde gedichten'' 2018, bezorgd door Hein Aalders en Menno Voskuil There are a number of German, French, Italian,
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
, and Portuguese translations of his prose works and Russian translations of his poetry.


References


External links


Texts and secondary literature at DBNL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slauerhoff, J. 1898 births 1936 deaths 20th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Dutch novelists 20th-century Dutch poets Dutch male poets Dutch medical writers Dutch travel writers Dutch male dramatists and playwrights Dutch male novelists People from Leeuwarden Utrecht University 20th-century Dutch male writers