Anton Quintana (6 September 1937 – 15 October 2017),

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

of Anton Adolf Kuyten, was a Dutch writer.

Biography

Early life

Quintana was born in 1937 as the twin brother of

André Kuyten André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

. His brother was named by his mother and Quintana was named by his father after

Anton Mussert Anton Adriaan Mussert (; 11 May 1894 – 7 May 1946) was a Dutch politician who co-founded the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) in 1931 and served as its leader until the party was banned in 1945. As such, he was the most pro ...

and

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. His father abandoned his wife and children when Quintana was two years old to join the Dutch national socialist party. Their mother died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

when they were ten years old. The twins then moved to an orphanage in Amsterdam. Due to complications at birth, one side of Quintana's face was left disfigured which was only corrected when he was sixteen years of age. Differences with his brother, both in physical appearance and in popularity, and being abandoned by his father would translate into recurring themes in his work, such as rivalry and a search for identity. His brother André also went on to write books, poetry and radio plays and asked Quintana not to use his name "Anton Kuyten" as it was too similar to "André Kuyten" so Quintana decided to write under his mother's surname. Quintana was also asked not to write

poems 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 ...

and adult literature like André; instead Quintana would focus on other work, such as

crime novels Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...

and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

. Quintana would later state that he does consider his work literature but that he ended up in children's literature as a result of this deal with his brother.

Radio and television

His first

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

was ''Ontmoeting in de herfst'' which aired in 1962 and published a year later in ''6 hoorspelen'' (1963). In 1970 he received the ANV-Visser Neerlandiaprijs for his radio play ''De vrouw onder het schavot'' and in 1973 he received the same award for his

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

''Het zout der aarde''. His brother André received the same award a few years earlier in 1967 and again in 1973. In 1970, Quintana also adapted the book ''Het wassende water'' (1925) by

Herman de Man Salomon Herman "Sal" Hamburger (11 July 1898 – 14 November 1946), known under his pseudonym Herman de Man, was a Dutch novelist. Life and work Salomon Herman Hamburger was born on 11 July 1898 in Woerden in the Netherlands. De Man, son of b ...

into a radio play.

Peter van Gestel Peter van Gestel (3 August 1937, Amsterdam – 1 March 2019, Amsterdam) was a Dutch writer. Career Writing Van Gestel made his debut in 1962 with ''Drempelvrees'', a collection of stories. He received the Reina Prinsen Geerligsprijs for ...

was involved as

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

for this adaption. In 1975 and 1976 he adapted the stories of

Martin Beck Martin Beck is a fictional Swedish police detective and the main character in a series of ten novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, collectively titled ''The Story of a Crime''. Frequently referred to as the Martin Beck stories, all were ada ...

, written by

Maj Sjöwall Maj Sjöwall (; 25 September 1935 – 29 April 2020) was a Swedish author and translator. She is best known for her novels about the police detective Martin Beck. She wrote these novels in collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö. ...

and

Per Wahlöö Per Fredrik Wahlöö (5 August 1926 – 22 June 1975), often identified in English translations as Peter Wahloo – was a Swedish author. He is perhaps best known for collaborative work with his partner Maj Sjöwall on a series of ten novels ab ...

, into a radio play called ''Moordbrigade Stockholm''. The main characters were played by

Jan Borkus Jan Borkus (September 19, 1920 – October 29, 2007) was a Dutch radio personality and actor, who specialized in radio drama. He was born and died in The Hague, Netherlands. Filmography * 1966 - ''De Kijkkast'' - Gompie (pop), Gompie and Ri ...

, Hans Karsenbarg, Paul van der Lek and Hans Hoekman. In 1977 and 1978 Quintana wrote the popular television series '' De Kris Pusaka''.

Writing

Quintana made his debut in children's literature with the book ''Padjelanta'' in 1973. The book was not a commercial success and Quintana bought all remaining copies and used them to raise his garden. His next children's book ''De adelaar'' was published in 1974. Quintana also wrote comic stories for children's magazine ''

Pep Pep is energy or high spirits; it may refer to: * Pep band, an ensemble of instrumentalists * Pep (dog) (c. 1923–1930), Labrador Retriever sent to the Eastern State Penitentiary * Pep, the dog in Putt-Putt (series), ''Putt-Putt'' (series) * Pep ...

'' with illustrations by Hans G. Kresse, Jos Looman and

Thé Tjong-Khing Thé Tjong-Khing (; born August 4, 1933) is a children's book illustrator based in the Netherlands. He was born in Purworedjo, Java, Dutch East Indies to a large Chinese Indonesian family. As a child he was interested in the Tarzan comic strips ...

. In the years after his brother's death in 1979 Quintana turned to

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

and he traveled to

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

to escape his life in the Netherlands. In 1982, he published the book ''De bavianenkoning'' which is based on his travels in Sumatra. Quintana's emotional struggles left him unable to read or write and instead he had to dictate the book to someone else. Quintana was awarded the

Gouden Griffel The Gouden Griffel (Golden Stylus) is an award given to authors of children's or teenagers' literature in the Netherlands. History Since 1971, it is awarded each year during the Dutch Children's Books Week, by the Stichting Collectieve Prop ...

in 1983 for the book. In 1995, he published the book ''Het boek van Bod Pa'' for which he was awarded the

Gouden Uil The Golden Book-Owl (De Gouden Boekenuil) is a Belgian prize for original Dutch language literature. Originally it was named Golden Owl (De Gouden Uil). It has been awarded annually since 1995. Development It has changed categories several time ...

and

Woutertje Pieterse Prijs The Woutertje Pieterse Prijs (; Dutch language, Dutch for Woutertje Pieterse Prize) is an annual Dutch literary award for the best Children's literature, children's book of the preceding year. History The award was first given in 1988. The ...

in 1996. In 2001, his last book ''De hemelruiter'' (2000), a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to ''Het boek van Bod Pa'', received an honorable mention by the jury of the Woutertje Pieterse Prijs. Quintana's work has been translated into several languages, including by

Mirjam Pressler Mirjam Pressler, born Mirjam Gunkel (18 June 1940 – 16 January 2019) was a German novelist and translator. Being the author of more than 30 children's and teenage books, she also translated into German more than 300 works by other writers from ...

(German) and John Nieuwenhuizen (English). Quintana himself has also translated several stories and books into Dutch, including work of

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

, Alec Haig and John D. MacDonald.

Death

Quintana died on 15 October 2017.

Awards

Quintana received various awards for his work: * 1970: ANV-Visser Neerlandiaprijs, ''De vrouw onder het schavot'' * 1973: ANV-Visser Neerlandiaprijs, ''Het zout der aarde'' * 1983:

, ''De bavianenkoning'' * 1996:

, ''Het boek van Bod Pa'' * 1996:

, ''Het boek van Bod Pa''

References

External links

Anton Quintana

Nederlands Letterenfonds The Nederlands Letterenfonds ("Dutch Foundation for Literature") is a Dutch organization that promotes Dutch literature at home and abroad. The Letterenfonds represents Dutch authors at such events as the Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Boo ...

(Dutch Foundation for Literature)
Anton Quintana
(in Dutch), Digital Library for Dutch Literature
Anton Quintana
(in Dutch), schrijversinfo.nl * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quintana, Anton 1937 births 2017 deaths Dutch children's writers Woutertje Pieterse Prize winners 20th-century pseudonymous writers Gouden Griffel winners