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
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 an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio.
During the Great War the Royal ...
, 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.
The profession of the s ...
, and travel all over the world's oceans.
In 1959, van Ommeren settled in the
Netherlands
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, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
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 or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
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 1 ...
introduced him: "The title refers to the name of an
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
class of serfs, the
Yanacuna, who were increasingly driven from their land and family after the destruction of the
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
society by the
conquistadors." 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 antho ...
.
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 Literair'', ''De Tweede Ronde'', and many others. In 2002, a collection was published by
Gerrit Komrij 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
People from Paramaribo
Surinamese poets
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