Because modern

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

is a

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

country,Dutch, French and German are legally the three official languages in Belgium, see
Belgium, European Union
/ref> Belgian literature is often treated as a branch of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

or Dutch literature. Some writing also exists in the

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority La ...

s of Belgium, with published works in both the

Walloon language Walloon (; natively ; ) is a Romance language that is spoken in much of Wallonia and, to a very small extent, in Brussels, Belgium; some villages near Givet, northern France; and a clutch of communities in northeastern Wisconsin, United States ...

, closely related to French, and also in various regional Flemish or Dutch-related dialects. German is the third official language in Belgium and is spoken by a small community of about 70,000 German-speakers of the

German-speaking Community of Belgium The German-speaking Community (, , DG), also known as East Belgium ( ), is one of the three Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, federal communities of Belgium. The community is composed of nine municipalities in Liège Province, ...

in the border region Eupen-Malmedy. ''See :de:Belgische_Literatur#Die_deutsche_Literatur_in_Belgien.

Dutch/Flemish writers

* Hendrik Conscience (1812 – 1883), author of '' The Lion of Flanders'' (1838) *

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 ...

(1830 – 1899), noted for his use of West Flemish dialect * Cyriel Buysse (1859 – 1932) *

Willem Elsschot Alphonsus Josephus de Ridder (7 May 1882 – 31 May 1960) was a Belgian writer and poet who wrote under the pseudonym Willem Elsschot (). One of the most prominent Flemish authors, his most famous work, ''Cheese'' (1933) is the most translated F ...

(pseudonym of Alphonsus Josephus de Ridder, 1882 – 1960) * Marnix Gijsen (pen name of Joannes Alphonsius Albertus Goris, 1899 – 1984) *

Louis Paul Boon Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht (Louis Paul) Boon (15 March 1912, in Aalst, Belgium, Aalst – 10 May 1979, in Erembodegem) was a Belgian writer of novels, poetry, pornography, columns and art criticism in Flemish dialects, Flemish. He was also a painter. ...

(1912 – 1979) * Hugo Claus (1929 – 2008) * Jef Geeraerts (1930 – 2015) * Eric de Kuyper (born 1942) *

Herman de Coninck Herman de Coninck (21 February 1944 – 22 May 1997) was a Belgium, Belgian poet, essayist, journalist and publisher. Life Herman de Coninck was born in Mechelen, Belgium, where his parents ran a Catholic bookshop. He attended the Sint-Rombou ...

(1944 – 1997) poet *

Herman Brusselmans Herman Frans Martha Brusselmans (; born 9 October 1957) is a Belgian novelist, poet, playwright and columnist. He lives in Ghent. He is one of the best-selling authors in Flanders, but controversial at the same time for his profane language and o ...

(born 1957) *

Tom Lanoye Tom Lanoye (; born 27 August 1958) is a Belgian novelist, poet, columnist, screenwriter and playwright. He is one of the most widely read and honoured authors in his language area (the Netherlands and Flanders), and makes regular appearances at ...

(born 1958) *

Erwin Mortier Erwin Mortier (born 28 November 1965) is a Dutch-language Belgian author. Spending his youth in Hansbeke, he later moved to nearby Ghent, where he became city poet (2005–2006). He wrote as a columnist for newspapers like '' De Morgen'' and p ...

(born 1965) *

Dimitri Verhulst Dimitri Verhulst (born 2 October 1972) is a Belgian writer and poet. He is best known for his novels ''Problemski Hotel'' and ''The Misfortunates''. Biography Verhulst was an unwanted child in a violent home and spent his later childhood in a f ...

(born 1972)

Belgian literature in French

Nicolas Ancion Nicolas Ancion () is a Belgian writer born in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, in 1971. His parents were professional puppeteers. Writer He writes fiction for adults, young adults and children and is the author of several theater plays and poetry coll ...

* Alain Le Bussy * Francis Baudouin * Charles De Coster * Eugène Demolder *

André-Paul Duchâteau André-Paul Duchâteau (8 May 1925 – 26 August 2020) was a Belgian comics writer and mystery novelist. Biography He worked with Tibet on the detective comics series ''Ric Hochet'' and the more humoristic western comic ''Chick Bill''. He also w ...

* Georges Eekhoud * Max Elskamp *

Michel de Ghelderode Michel de Ghelderode (born Adémar Adolphe Louis Martens; 3 April 1898 – 1 April 1962) was an avant-garde Demographics of Belgium, Belgian dramatist, from Flanders, who spoke and wrote in French. His works often dealt with the extremes of huma ...

* Albert Giraud * Maurice Grevisse * Camille Lemonnier * Suzanne Lilar *

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

* Thierry Martens * Pierre Mertens * Henri Michaux *

Amélie Nothomb Baroness Fabienne Claire Nothomb (; born 13 August 1967''État présent de la noblesse belge'', éditions of 1979, 1995 and 2010. Her birth is announced in n° 87, aout 1967, p. 340 of the ''Bulletin de l'association de la noblesse du royaume de ...

* Jean Ray aka John Flanders for his works in Dutch * Georges Rodenbach * J.H. Rosny and J.-H. Rosny aîné & J.-H. Rosny jeune * Stanislas-André Steeman *

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

* Jean-Philippe Toussaint * Emile Verhaeren * Henri Vernes * Arthur Xhignesse *

Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar (, ; ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 190317 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and ...

Belgian literature in Walloon

Literature in Walloon has been printed since the 16th century or at least since the beginning of the 17th century. Its golden age was in the 19th century: 'That period saw an efflorescence of Walloon literature, plays and poems primarily, and the founding of many theaters and periodicals.' Yves Quairiaux counted 4800 plays for 1860–1914, published or not. In this period plays were almost the only popular show in Wallonia. But this theater remains popular in present-day Wallonia: Theatre is still flourishing with over 200 non-professional companies playing in the cities and villages of Wallonia for an audience of over 200,000 each year. Jacques Ancion wanted to develop a regular adult audience. This regional literature most commonly deals with local folklore and ancient traditions, the most prominent Walloon author being Arthur Masson. * Charles-Nicolas Simonon (1774-1847): "Li Côparèye" (1822) * Nicolas Defrecheux (1825-1874): "Lèyîs-m'plorer" (Let me weep, 1854) * Edward Remouchamps (1836-1900) wrote the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

theater piece "Tatî l'pèriquî" (Gautier, the barber, 1885) * Salme Dieudonné: the novel "Li Houlot" (The cadet, 1888) * Willame Georges (1863-1917), sonnets * François Renkin (1872-1906), stylized prose * Henri Simon (1856-1939): "Li Mwert di l'abe" (The death of the tree, 1909) and "Li pan dè bon Dieu" (The Bread of the Good Lord, 1914) * Jules Claskin (1884-1926), poetry * Laloux Auguste (1908-1976): "Li p'tit Bêrt", written before 1940, published in 1963 * Geo Libbrecht (1891-1976): poetry, "Les cloques / Les cleokes (1964)."

External links

Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library Antwerp
for Flemish and French literature in Belgium

Notes and references

*Notes: *References: {{DEFAULTSORT:Belgian Literature Belgian writers in French

Dutch/Flemish writers

See also

Belgian literature in French

See also

Belgian literature in Walloon

See also

External links

Notes and references