Franciscus "Frank" Petrus Maria Lateur (3 October 1871 – 15 August 1969), known as Stijn Streuvels (), was a Flemish Belgian writer.

Biography

He started writing at a very young age. He was inspired by his uncle, the poet

Guido Gezelle Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium. He is famous for the use of the West Flemish dialect, but he also wrote in other languages ...

. Until 1905 he worked as a baker at Avelghem, a village near Kortrijk. Initially his work was published in an insignificant magazine, ''De jonge Vlaming'' (The young Fleming). Soon he was discovered by the editors of a new magazine, '' Van Nu en Straks'' (From Now and Soon). After their first encounter, Emmanuel de Bom became his mentor and advised him to publish his work in

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

form. In 1905 he married Alida Staelens. They had 4 children: Paula (1906), Paul (1909), Dina (1916) and Isa (1922). In 1980 their house became a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

dedicated to Streuvels. Streuvels work usually deals with the rural life of poor farmers in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. ''De Teleurgang van de Waterhoek'' was made into a

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

titled ''

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–300 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

''. Also '' De vlaschaard'' (twice) and ''De blijde dag'' were filmed. In 1937 and 1938 Streuvels garnered the majority of the

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are six awarding committees from four institutions, one for each Nobel Prize. Five of these committees are working bodies ...

votes for his receiving the literature

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

, but each time the academy awarded the prize to someone else: in 1937 he had to give way to Roger Martin du Gard and in 1938 to a new discovery, Pearl Buck. He became doctor

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

at the University of Leuven, the

University of Münster The University of Münster (, until 2023 , WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of study in 15 departments, it is Germany's ...

and the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

Published work

* ''Lenteleven'' (1899) - containing and ''Het einde'' * ''Zomerland'' (1900) - containing ''Groeikracht'', ''Zomerland'', ''Meimorgen'' and ''Het woud'' * ''Zonnetij'' (1900) - containing ''De oogst'', ''In 't water'', ''Zomerzondag'' and ''Avondrust'' * ''Doodendans'' (1901) - containing ''Doodendans'', ''Jongenstijd'' (in later editions : ''Kindertijd''), ''In de wijde wereld'', ''Een speeldag'', ''In de weide'', ''Noorsche liederen'', ''Honden'' and ''Doodendans 2'' * ''De oogst'' (1901) - from ''Zonnetij'' * ''Langs de wegen'' (1902) - The book Streuvels himself loved the most * ''Dagen'' (1902) - containing ''De kalfkoe'', ''Naar buiten'', ''Sint-Jan'', ''Sint-Josef'', ''Vrede'' and ''Verovering'' * ''Vertellingen van Tolstoï'' (1902) - 13 narrations of Tolstoy, translated from German * ''Minnehandel'' (1903) - containing ''Joel'', ''Maagdekensminne'', and * ''Geluk in 't huishouden'' (1903) - Book of Tolstoy, translated from German * ''Soldatenbloed'' (1904) - Dramatic play * ''Dorpsgeheimen I'' (1904) - containing ''De lawine'', ''Bertken en de moordenaars alle twaalf'' (in later editions : ''Een beroerde maandag'') and ''Jantje Verdure'' * ''Dorpsgeheimen II'' (1904) - containing ''Kinderzieltje'', and ''Op het kasteel'' * ''Openlucht'' (1905) - containing ''Zonder dak'', ''Grootmoederken'', ''Een nieuw hoedje'', ''Het duivelstuig'' and ''Jeugd'' * ''Stille avonden'' (1905) - containing ''Een lustige begraving'', ''Horieneke'', ''Zomerdagen op het vlakke land'', ''Zonneblommen'' and ''Ingoyghem'' * ''Grootmoederken'' (1905) - from ''Openlucht'' * ''Het uitzicht der dingen'' (1906) - containing ''De kwade dagen'', ''De veeprijskamp'' and ''De ommegang'' * ''Reinaert de Vos'' (1907) * '' De vlaschaard'' (1907) * ''Twee vertellingen van Tolstoï'' (1908) * ''Tieghem : Het Vlaamse lustoord'' (1908) - containing ''De Streek'', ''Sint Aernout'', ''Het oude Tieghem'', ''Het Lustoord'' and ''Eene wandeling'' * ''Najaar I'' (1909) - containing ''Najaar'', ''De blijde dag'' (''Najaar'' was later included in ''Najaar II''; from then on ''Najaar I'' became ''De blijde dag'') * ''Najaar II'' (1909) - containing ''De boomen'', ''Jacht'', ''De aanslag'' (After inclusion of ''Najaar I'', ''Najaar II'' Became ''Najaar'') * ''Reinaert de Vos voor de Vierschaar van Koning Nobel de leeuw'' (1909) * 3512-001 Print 15822kopie

''Reinaert de Vos'' (1910) - Short version of the 1907 edition * ''Björnson, Kleine verhalen'' (1910) - 8 stories of

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

translated from Norwegian * ''Vertelsel van Gokkel en Hinkel'' (1910) - A story of Clemens Brentano translated from German * ''De Mourlons'' (1910) - A book of F. Bouché translated from French * ''Het kerstekind'' (1911) * ''Björnstjerne Björnson, Het Bruidslied'' (1911) - Translated from Norwegian * ''Over vrouwe Courtmans'' (1911) - Text of a lecture * ''Het glorierijke licht'' (1912) * ''Morgenstond'' (1912) * ''De werkman'' (1913) - Later included in ''Werkmenschen'' * (1913) * ''Een beroerde maandag'' (1913) - containing ''Een beroerde maandag'' and ''De lawine'' (from ''Dorpsgeheimen I'') * ''Dorpslucht in 2 delen'' (1914) * ''Mijn rijwiel'' (1915) - containing ''Mijn rijwiel '', ''Hoe men schrijver wordt'' * ''In oorlogstijd'' (1915–1916) - containing ''Augustus 1914'', ''September 1914'', ''October 1914'', ''November 1914'', ''December 1914-I'' and ''December 1914-Slot'' * ''De aanslag'' (1917) from ''Najaar II'' * ''Charles de Coster's Vlaamsche vertelsels'' (1918) - translated from French - containing ''De mannen van Smeerop'', ''Blanca, Clara en Candida'', '' Heere Halewijn'' and ''Smedje Smee'' * ''Sint-Jan'' (1919) - from ''Dagen'' * ''De boomen'' (1919) - from ''Najaar II'' * ''Björnson, Een vrolijke knaap'' (1919) - from ''Kleine verhalen'' * ''Genoveva van Brabant Deel I'' (1919) * ''Genoveva van Brabant Deel II'' (1920) * ''Reinaert de Vos'' (1921) * ''De blijde dag'' (1921) see ''Najaar I'' * (1921) - short version of the work from 1919 * ''Prutske'' (1922) * ''Grootmoedertje'' (1922) - Play version of ''Grootmoederken'' from ''Openlucht'' * ''Vertelsels van 't jaar nul'' (1922) - containing 29 short stories * ''Land en leven in Vlaanderen'' (1923) - containing ''Het uitzicht'', , , * ''Herinneringen uit het verleden'' (1924) - containing ''Onze streek'', ''Damme'', ''Veurn-Ambacht'', ''Volkslectuur'' (= edited and enhanced version of ''Over vrouwe Courtmans''), ''Schoonheid'', ''De schoonste deugd'', ''Kinderlectuur'', ''Mijn schooltijd'', ''Het lied van den weemoed'', ''Mijn loopbaan op de planken'', ''Voor den oorlog'', ''Mijn fiets in oorlogstijd'', ''Na den oorlog'', ''Na vijf en twintig jaren'' * ''Tristan en Isolde'' (1924) - Based on the old folk book * ''Op de Vlaamsche binnenwateren'' (1925) - containing '' 't Haantje'', ''Dinsdag'', ''Woensdag'', ''Donderdag'', ''Vrijdag'', ''Zaterdag'', ''Zondag'' * ''Waarom ik Vlaanderen liefheb'' (1926) - original by G. Blachon translated from French * ''Werkmenschen'' (1926) - containing ''De werkman'' (separately published in 1913), ''Kerstmis in niemandsland'', ''Het leven en de dood in den ast'' * ''De teleurgang van den Waterhoek'' (1927) * ''De drie Koningen aan de kust'' (1927) * ''De tijd der kollebloemen'' (1927) - original by D.-J. D'Orbaix translated from French * ''Levenswijsheid uit China'' (1928) - translated from German * ''Vader en dochter'' (1928) - Correspondence of Tolstoy with his daughter Marie translated from German * ''Reinaert de Vos fragment'' (1928) * ''Kerstwake'' (1928) * ''Kerstvertelsel'' (1929) - In 1938 published as ''De vreemde verteller'' * ''Over Genoveva van Brabant'' (1929) - Text of a lecture * ''Alma met de vlassen haren'' (1931) * ''De oude wiking'' (1931) * ''Dr. Lauwers schriften'' (1931) - Text of a lecture * ''Drie Russische novellen'' (1932) * ''De rampzalige kaproen'' (1933) - Rewriting of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

of Wernher de Tuinder * (1933) - containing 18 stories * ''Sagen uit het hooge noorden'' (1934) - containing 38 tales from Denmark, Sweden and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

* ''Zeelieden en zeevisscherij'' (1934) - Edited from French book of René de Pauw: ''Gens de mer et pêche maritime'' * ''Vijf kerstvertellingen'' (1934) - Translated from French work of Camille Melloy * ''Prutske's vertelselboek'' (1935) - containing 9 stories * ''Levensbloesem'' (1937) * ''Paradijssprookjes'' (1938) - From original of Max Mell. * ''De terechtstelling van een onschuldige'' (1940) * ''De maanden'' (1941) - Title in The Netherlands: ''Een gang door het jaar'' * ''De grauwe ruiter'' (1942) - original by Herbert von Hoerner translated from German * ''Smedje Smee'' (1942) - From ''Vlaamsche vertelsels'' of Ch. de Coster * ''Heule'' (1942) * ''Jantje Verdure'' (1943) - from ''Dorpsgeheimen I'' * ''Het leven en de dood in den ast'' (1944) - from ''Werkmenschen'' * ''Jeugd'' (1946) - from ''Openlucht'' * ''Avelghem'' (1946) * ''Beroering over het dorp'' (1948) - Short reworked version of ''Dorpslucht'' * ''Ingoyghem'' (1951) - Period 1904–1914 * ''Ingoyghem II'' (1957) - Periode 1914–1940 * ''Ingooigem'' (1980) - containing ''Ingoyghem'' and ''Ingoyghem II'' * ''Kroniek van de familie Gezelle'' (1960) * ''Hugo Verriest'' (1964) - Monography * ''In levenden lijve'' (1966) - Reworkings of some texts from ''Heule'', ''Avelghem'', ''Ingoyghem'' and ''Ingoyghem II'', ''Kroniek van de familie Gezelle'' and ''Herinneringen uit het verleden'' * (1970) - from ''Lenteleven'' * ''Het zinnespel van droom en dood'' (1971) - play version of ''Het leven en de dood in den ast'' * ''Hoe ik Brugge gezien en beleefd heb'' (1971) * ''Onze streek'' (1972) - part of ''Herinneringen uit het verleden''

Awarded prizes

* Prize of Dutch Literature 1906 for his work over the period 1900–1904 * Prize of Dutch Literature 1911 for his work over the period 1905–1909 * State Prize for Literature 1935 * Prize Scriptores Catholici 1950 * Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren 1962 for his entire life work

Sources

Stijn Streuvels

References

External links