Annie Schmidt
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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" 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 is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
and
Anne Frank Annelies Marie Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – February or March 1945)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 li ...
. Although Schmidt wrote
poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
,
song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
s,
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, ...
s, plays,
musicals 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 ...
, and radio and television
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
for adults, she is known best for
children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...
. Her best-known work for children may be the series ''
Jip and Janneke ''Jip and Janneke'' (Dutch: ''Jip en Janneke'') is a series of children's books in the Netherlands, written by Annie M. G. Schmidt and illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. The series is known for its simplicity and wit. The series was originally wr ...
''. Many of her books, such as '' Pluk van de Petteflet'', were illustrated by
Fiep Westendorp Sophia Maria "Fiep" Westendorp (17 December 1916 – 3 February 2004) was a Dutch illustrator who became popular due to her long collaboration with writer Annie M.G. Schmidt with their creation of Jip and Janneke. Career Three generations of D ...
. Schmidt received the 1988
Hans Christian Andersen Medal The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...
for her lasting contribution as a children's writer. The biennial award conferred by the
International Board on Books for Young People International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
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 Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
, continues to be referenced in the Dutch media and played an important role in discussions of euthanasia.


Early life

Anna Maria Geertruida Schmidt was born on 20 May 1911 in Kapelle,
Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
, 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 traditional denomination of the Dutch royal fami ...
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 ("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 e ...
. After secondary school in
Goes The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), operated by the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service division, supports weather fo ...
and working as an
au pair An au pair (; : au pairs) is a person working for, and living as part of, a homestay, host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family’s responsibility for child care as well as some homemaking, housework, and receive a monetary ...
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 ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
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 c ...
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 Cab ...
. 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. She wrote the lyrics to ''
De vogels van Holland The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1956 with two songs: "", composed by Cor Lemaire, with lyrics by Annie M. G. Schmidt, and performed by Jetty Paerl; and "", written by Jelle de Vries, and performed by Corry Brokken ...
'' by Jetty Pearl, the first ever song to be performed at the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
. 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 died of voluntary
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
one day after her 84th birthday (with a combination of pills and alcohol) and was buried in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. Her death 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." In 2006, she was included as #45 of 50 topics in the Canon of the Netherlands, which 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 Schmidt 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 Sophia Maria "Fiep" Westendorp (17 December 1916 – 3 February 2004) was a Dutch illustrator who became popular due to her long collaboration with writer Annie M.G. Schmidt with their creation of Jip and Janneke. Career Three generations of D ...
. 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'' / ''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 adaptation was directed by Vincent Bal based on a script by
Burny Bos Bernard Gerrit "Burny" Bos (8 April 1944 – 1 December 2023) was a Dutch film producer, screenwriter and children's book writer. He also worked as an actor in children's programs on radio and television. Life and career Bos started working wi ...
; 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 fi ...
. 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 theatre, 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, ...
on VARA 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!'') with songs by Harry Bannink, 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''


See also


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 humorous poets Dutch children's poets Dutch women 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 Burials at Zorgvlied Cemetery 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 Dutch screenwriters Blind poets