René De Clercq, born René Desiderius Declercq (

Deerlijk Deerlijk (; vls, Deirlyk) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality only comprises the town of Deerlijk proper. On January 1, 2006, Deerlijk had a total population of 11,310. The total area is 16.82 ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, 14 November 1877 –

Maartensdijk Maartensdijk is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt, and lies about 4 km north of Bilthoven. History Maartensdijk was a separate municipality until 2001, when it merged with De Bilt. Until ...

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 ...

, 12 June 1932), was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

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 ...

political activist, writer, poet, and composer.

Biography

He was the son of a flax dealer and rope-maker who also ran a local inn. After studying at the

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when th ...

he became a contributor and editor for the magazine ''

Van Nu en Straks ''Van Nu en Straks'' (; ''Of Now and Later'' or ''Today and Tomorrow'') was a Flemish literary and cultural magazine that was founded in 1893 by August Vermeylen. With a cover designed by Henry van de Velde, this magazine served as a vehicle for a ...

''. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he fled to the Netherlands. There he taught at the Belgian school in Amsterdam, while editing and contributing (mostly poetry) to the expat magazine "''De Vlaamsche Stem''" (''The Flemish Voice''), which (with German funding) slowly became an organ for Flemish activism. After the magazine was discontinued in 1916, he wrote a now famous poem directed at the

Belgian government in exile The Belgian Government in London (french: Gouvernement belge à Londres, nl, Belgische regering in Londen), also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 during World W ...

in Le Havre, "''Aan die van Havere''" (''To the Havrians''). In 1917 he wrote the song "''Daar is maar één Vlaanderen''" (''There is only one Flanders'') that became the national anthem of the Flemish separatists. On December 22, 1917, the ''

Raad van Vlaanderen The Council of Flanders ( nl, Raad van Vlaanderen, or RVV) was formed by members of the "activist" or "maximalist" faction of the Flemish Movement in German-occupied Belgium on 4 February 1917 with tacit German support. Its founders, who incl ...

'' declared its independence from Belgium. De Clercq became

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the museum dedicated to the art of the controversial 19th century Belgian romantic painter

Antoine Wiertz Antoine Joseph Wiertz (22 February 1806 – 18 June 1865) was a Belgian painter, sculptor, lithographer and art writer. He is known for his religious, historical, and allegorical works and portraits. He was an eccentric figure who originally was ...

in Brussels. He made a cultural journey through Germany that was well received. After the war he fled again to the Netherlands, where he received by letter the news of the death sentence pronounced upon him by the Belgian government in 1920. In the same year he travelled around the Netherlands with a small band performing his songs. Only after amnesty in 1929 did he return to Flanders for a short visit. Fifty years after he death he was reburied in

. His place of birth there is now a museum. His book of songs and poetry ''De Noodhoorn'', published in 1916, is listed in the Canon of Dutch Literature.

References

Author page
in the DBNL
De Noodhoorn
in the DBNL
Museum website

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clercq, Rene De 1877 births 1932 deaths 20th-century Belgian writers Belgian expatriates in the Netherlands Dutch male poets Flemish poets People from Deerlijk 20th-century Dutch male writers