Anna Blaman, pseudonym of Johanna Petronella Vrugt, (31 January 1905 – 13 July 1960) was a Dutch writer and poet. She was a recipient of the

P. C. Hooft Award The P.C. Hooft Award (in Dutch: P.C. Hooft-prijs), inaugurated in 1948, is a Dutch-language literary lifetime-achievement award named after 17th-century Dutch poet and playwright Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft. The award is made annually. Background ...

. The literary award

Anna Blaman Prijs The (Dutch for ''Anna Blaman Prize'') is a Dutch literary award created by the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds. The award is named after Dutch writer and poet Anna Blaman. The award is only given to those who either live or work or have a close co ...

is named after her.

Biography

The daughter of Pieter Jacob Vrugt and Johanna Karolina Wessels, she was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. Vrugt studied

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and went on to teach French in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. Vrugt lived most of her adult life in her mother's boarding house. She began publishing poetry in the literary magazines ''Criterium'' and ''Helikon''. In 1941, she published her first novel ''Vrouw en vriend'' (Woman and friend). This was followed by ''Eenzaam avontuur'' (Lonely adventure) in 1948. She published a novella ''De kruisvaarder'' (The Crusader) in 1950 and two books of short stories ''Ram Horna'' in 1951 and ''Overdag'' in 1957. The novel ''Op leven en dood'' (A Matter of Life and Death) was published in 1954. The "nom de plume" Anna Blaman may have been derived from the name of Alie Bosch, a nurse who treated Vrugt for a kidney disease. The author fell in love with Bosch; although Bosch left to live with a dancing teacher, they did become friends again later in life. She received the

in 1956. Her last novel ''De verliezers'' (The losers) remained uncompleted but was published posthumously in 1974. Vrugt died in Rotterdam at the age of 55 of a cerebral

embolism An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule (fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (air embolism, gas embolism), amniotic ...

. As a high-profile public figure who was openly homosexual, she helped open doors for Dutch lesbians. The 1990 Dutch film ''Spelen of sterven'' (English title '' To Play or to Die'') was based on one of her stories.

Publication (in English)

* Anna Blaman: ''A matter of life and death''. Transl. by Adrienne Dixon; introd. by Egbert Krispyn. New York, Twayne, 1974.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaman, Anna 1905 births 1960 deaths Politicians from Rotterdam Dutch women novelists Dutch women poets Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century Dutch women writers 20th-century Dutch novelists 20th-century Dutch poets Deaths from cerebral embolism 20th-century pseudonymous writers