Anna Maria Geertruida "Annie" Schmidt (20 May 1911 – 21 May 1995) was a Dutch writer. She is called the mother of the Dutch theatrical song, and the queen of Dutch children's literature, praised for her "delicious Dutch idiom," and considered one of the greatest Dutch writers. An ultimate honour was extended to her posthumously, in 2007, when a group of Dutch historians compiled the "

Canon of the Netherlands The Canon of the Netherlands (; also known as the Canon of Dutch History) is a list of fifty topics that aims to provide a chronological summary of Dutch history to be taught in primary schools and the first two years of secondary school in the ...

" and included Schmidt, alongside national icons such as

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

and

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

. Although Schmidt wrote

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, musicals, and radio and television

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

for adults, she is known best for

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

. Her best-known work for children may be the series '' Jip and Janneke''. Many of her books, such as '' Pluk van de Petteflet'', were illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. Schmidt received the 1988 Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her lasting contribution as a children's writer. The biennial award conferred by the

International Board on Books for Young People The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is an international non-profit organization committed to bringing books and children together. The headquarters of the IBBY are located in Basel, Switzerland. IBBY history In 1952, Jella Lepm ...

is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. By the time she died in 1995, she was an icon of the Dutch literary world. Her death, caused by euthanasia, continues to be referenced in the Dutch media and played an important role in discussions of euthanasia.

Early life

Anna Maria Geertruida "Annie" Schmidt was born on 20 May 1911 in

Kapelle Kapelle () is a municipality and a town in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland. As of January 2017, the municipality's population amounts to 12,620. Population centers Topography ''The municipality of Kapelle, June 2015'' Transport ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

in the Netherlands. She was the daughter of

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...

minister Johannes Daniel Schmidt (1871–1951) and school teacher Geertruida Maria Bouhuijs. She had an elder brother Wim and two older sisters also named Anna M. G. who both died young and before she was born. She was called Zus ( en, Sister) by her family. She was a solitary child wearing heavy glasses, who found an escape in writing poetry and fiction, even though she once received a grade of 2 (on a scale of 1 to 10) in Dutch class—she would later brag about the report card. Her mother encouraged her and sent some of her poetry to

Willem Kloos Willem Johannes Theodorus Kloos (; 6 May 1859 – 31 March 1938) was a nineteenth-century Dutch poet and literary critic. He was one of the prominent figures of the Movement of Eighty and became editor in chief of ''De Nieuwe Gids'' after the ed ...

. After secondary school in

Goes Goes () is a city and municipality in the southwestern Netherlands on Zuid-Beveland, in the province of Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents. History Goes was founded in the 10th century on the edge of a creek: de Kort ...

and working as an

au pair An au pair (; plural: au pairs) is a helper from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a mon ...

in Germany, she began to study for a job as a librarian, an occupation she held until 1946.

Career

In 1947, she embarked upon her literary career while writing for the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

newspaper ''

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

'', and shortly after started writing songs and sketches for performers including

Wim Sonneveld Willem "Wim" Sonneveld (; 28 June 1917 – 8 March 1974) was a Dutch cabaret artist and singer. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Kan, he is considered to be one of the 'Great Three' of Dutch cabaret. Sonneveld is generally viewed as a Dutch cu ...

and

Wim Kan Willem Cornelis "Wim" Kan (15 January 1911 – 8 September 1983) was a Dutch cabaret artist. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Sonneveld, he is considered to be one of the Great Three of Dutch cabaret. In 1936, he established the ABC Cabar ...

. Her literary career took off in the early 1950s, and included song- and playwriting for the theatre, scripts for radio and television shows, columns for newspapers, and children's books. In 1964, she won the literary award Staatsprijs voor kinder- en jeugdliteratuur. Her final book, ''Wat Ik Nog Weet'', a book of childhood memories, appeared in 1992. She used euthanasia a day after her 84th birthday (with a combination of pills and alcohol) and was buried in

By the time she died in 1995 (of heart failure caused by euthanasia), she was an icon of the Dutch literary world. Her death—peaceful, in the company of her friends and family—continues to be referenced in the Dutch media and played an important role in discussions of euthanasia."In de media wordt vooral aandacht besteed aan opmerkelijke en ingewikkelde sterfgevallen, maar sterven verloopt meestal heel mooi, als je dat zo kunt zeggen. Kijk naar het overlijden van Annie M. G. Schmidt. Ze vierde haar verjaardag met familie en vrienden en 's nachts overleed ze in haar slaap." Her life became the subject of plays in 2003 and 2009, her work continues to be in print, and her plays are still performed (such as 1980's ', a play discussing euthanasia, performed again in 1999)."Niemand anders beschikt over dat verrukkelijk oer-Hollandse idioom." She is included as one of the topics in the

, which was prepared by a committee headed by

Frits van Oostrom Frits van Oostrom (born 15 May 1953 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is University Professor for the Humanities at Utrecht University. In 1999 he was a visiting Professor at Harvard for the Erasmus Chair. From September 2004 to June 2005, he was a fe ...

and presented to the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Maria van der Hoeven, in 2006; the Canon is a list of fifty topics that aims to provide a chronological summary of Dutch history to be taught in primary schools and the first two years of secondary school in the Netherlands. A revised version, which still includes her as one of the topics, was presented to the Dutch government on 3 October 2007.

Books

''Jip en Janneke''

Schmidt began writing '' Jip en Janneke'' while working in Amsterdam at ''Het Parool''. Jip and Janneke are two children who live next to each other, and engaged in short, self-contained adventures every week. Some story lines were based on real adventures involving Schmidt's son Flip and the girl next door. The stories were illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. The first was published 13 September 1952, the last 7 September 1957; a total of eight book collections were published between 1953 and 1960. Jip and Janneke are among the best-known children's characters in the Netherlands—they were listed first on a list of "five typically Dutch phenomena"—and their likeness is marketed on a variety of products sold by the HEMA department stores.

''Minoes'' or ''Undercover Kitty / Miss Minoes''

''Minoes'' (1970) is the story of a cat who turns into a young lady and, by spreading gossip from the cat world, helps a young journalist keep his job at the newspaper. In 2001, a film adaption was directed by Vincent Bal based on a script by Burny Bos; it became one of the most popular Dutch children's films abroad. Winning two Golden Calves, ''Minoes'' was the best-selling Dutch children's film to date, and the DVD was certified platinum in 2002. More than 815,000 people saw it in the theatre, making it the highest-selling Dutch film of the year. The film won first prize at the 2002

Chicago International Children's Film Festival In 1983, Facets Multi-Media founded the Chicago International Children's Film Festival (CICFF), the first competitive festival of films for children in the U.S. The impetus for the Festival came from a need to introduce new, culturally diverse fil ...

. The book ''Minoes'' has been translated into English as ''Minnie'' (1992) and as ''The Cat Who Came In off the Roof'' (2014).

Radio and television

In 1952, Schmidt began writing a radio show, ''De Familie Doorsnee'', which ran until 1958. In 1957 she began writing ''Pension Hommeles'', a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

VARA Vara or VARA may refer to: Geography *Vara (river), in Liguria, Italy * Vara Parish, former municipality in Tartu County, Estonia * Vara, Estonia, village in Peipsiääre Parish, Tartu County, Estonia * Vara Municipality, municipality in western S ...

television.

''Ja Zuster, Nee Zuster'' or ''Yes Nurse! No Nurse!''

In the 1960s, Schmidt wrote one of the most popular Dutch television series of all time, ''Ja zuster, nee zuster'' (English: ''Yes Nurse! No Nurse!''), later the inspiration for the 2002 film of the same name. According to Rieks Swarte, who adapted Annie M.G.'s 1962 comic strip '' Tante Patent'' to a play (with music by Fay Lovski) in 2007, the story of Tante Patent was the breeding ground for ''Ja Zuster, Nee Zuster.''

Bibliography

* (1953) '' Abeltje'' * (1953) '' Jip en Janneke'' * (1954) ''De groeten van Jip en Janneke'' * (1955) ''De A van Abeltje'' * (1955) ''Hop maar Jip en Janneke'' * (1956) ''Daar gaan Jip en Janneke'' * (1957) ''Een zoentje van Jip en Janneke'' * (1957) ''Wiplala'' * (1958) ''Goed zo, Jip en Janneke'' * (1959) ''Pas op, Jip en Janneke'' * (1960) ''Eventjes lachen, Jip en Janneke'' * (1961) ''Ibbeltje'' * (1962) ''Wiplala weer'' * (1970) ''Minoes'' * (1971) '' Pluk van de Petteflet'' * (1972) ''Waaidorp'' * (1973) ''Floddertje'' * (1980) ''Otje'' * (1988) ''Tante Patent'' * (1990) ''Jorrie en Snorrie'' * (1992) ''Wat ik nog weet''

References

External links

* (Dutch and English versions) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Annie M. G. 1911 births 1995 deaths Constantijn Huygens Prize winners Dutch children's writers Dutch women dramatists and playwrights Dutch women poets Dutch women screenwriters Dutch screenwriters Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners Writers from Amsterdam People from Kapelle Dutch blind people Deaths by euthanasia Euthanasia in the Netherlands Dutch women children's writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century Dutch women writers 20th-century Dutch poets 20th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Dutch novelists Dutch women novelists Gouden Griffel winners 1995 suicides 20th-century screenwriters