Bernardo Ashetu (4 March 1929 – 3 August 1982) was a Surinamese poet.

Biography

Henk van Ommeren was born on the edge of Paramaribo as the son of doctor Hendrik van Ommeren who would later become Chairman of the Estates of Suriname. His son did not want to go to fancy schools and universities, he would later become

telegraphist A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is a person who uses a telegraph key to send and receive Morse code messages in a telegraphy system. These messages, also called telegrams, can be transmitte ...

, and

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

, and travel all over the world's oceans. In 1959, van Ommeren settled in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and started writing. In 1962, van Ommeren made his debut ''Yanacuna'' in the series ''Antilliaanse Cahiers'' under the

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 ...

Bernardo Ashetu.

Cola Debrot Nicolaas (Cola) Debrot (4 May 1902 – 3 December 1981) was a writer, lawyer, medical doctor and politician. Biography Debrot was born in Kralendijk, the son of a plantation owner. In 1904, he moved from Bonaire to Curaçao, and then when he was ...

introduced him: "The title refers to the name of an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

class of serfs, the Yanacuna, who were increasingly driven from their land and family after the destruction of the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

society by the

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

." The collection contained 205 poems, and is well received, but Ashetu stopped publishing. He kept on writing, but never submitted them to a publisher. The legacy of his unpublished poems was handled by

Michiel van Kempen Michaël Henricus Gertrudis (Michiel) van Kempen (born 4 April 1957) is a Dutch writer, art historian and literary critic. He has written novels, short stories, essays, travel literature and scenarios. He was the compiler of a huge range of anth ...

. Van Ommeren never used the name Bernardo Ashetu in his other writings, and signed his letters Kamanda meaning "I am a negro." The name Kamanda is also mentioned on his grave. Later the poetry started appearing in the ''Spiegel van de Surinaamse poëzie'' (1995) and magazines like ''Dietsche Warande'', ''Bzzlletin'', ''

De Ware Tijd ''De Ware Tijd'' (English: The True Time) is one of four daily newspapers in Paramaribo, Suriname. , it was the largest-circulation paper in the country, ahead of its rival, '' De West'', and was described as taking a "staunchly independent stance" ...

Literair'', ''De Tweede Ronde'', and many others. In 2002, a collection was published by

Gerrit Komrij Gerrit Jan Komrij (30 March 1944 – 5 July 2012) was a Dutch poet, novelist, translator, critic, polemic journalist and playwright. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s, writing poetry that sharply contrasted with the free form poetry, free- ...

titled ''Dat ik zong''., and in 2011, Michiel van Kempen published ''Dat ik je liefheb.''

References

External links

Bernardo Ashetu at Digital Library for Dutch Literature
(in Dutch)
Bernardo Ashetu at Werkgroep Caraïbische Letteren
(in Dutch) 1929 births 1982 deaths 20th-century poets Dutch male poets Dutch sailors Writers from Paramaribo Surinamese poets {{suriname-writer-stub