Claire Nicolas White (June 18, 1925 – May 26, 2020) was an American poet, novelist and translator of

Dutch literature Dutch-language literature () comprises all writings of literary merit written through the ages in the Dutch language, a language which currently has around 23 million native speakers. Dutch-language literature is the product of the Netherlands, ...

. She was a niece of

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

and the granddaughter-in-law of architect

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...

.Aaron W. Godfrey
Review of Fragments of Stained Glass
, ''New Oxford Review'', September 1990

Life

White was born in

Groet Groet is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about 11 km northwest of Alkmaar. History The village was first mentioned between 1130 and 1161 as "in Grothen", and means "land ...

, Netherlands, the daughter of

Joep Nicolas Joep Nicolas (Josephus Antonius Hubertus Franciscus Nicolas, October 6, 1897 – July 25, 1972) was a Dutch-born French ecclesiastical artist specializing in stained glass and sculpture. He was also a muralist, book illustrator, cartoonist, costum ...

, a Dutch stained-glass artist who emigrated to America just before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She grew up in the European exile community in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Her husband, the sculptor Robert White, was a grandson of Stanford White. White's literary papers are held by

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

.Claire Nicolas White Collection
/ref>

Works

Translations

* (tr. with

Louise Varèse Louise Varèse (; ; 20 November 1890 – 1 July 1989), also credited as Louise Norton or Louise Norton-Varèse, was an American writer, editor, and translator of French literature who was involved with New York Dadaism. Early life and education ...

) ''The Time of Our Lives'' (''Journal d'une petite fille'') by Martine Rouchaud, 1946. * ''

The Assault ''The Assault'' (original title in Dutch: ''De aanslag'') is a 1982 novel by Dutch author Harry Mulisch. Random House published an English translation by Claire Nicolas White in 1985. It covers 35 years in the life of the lone survivor of a nig ...

'' by

Harry Mulisch Harry Kurt Victor Mulisch (; 29 July 192730 October 2010) was a Dutch writer. He wrote more than 80 novels, plays, essays, poems, and philosophical reflections. Mulisch's works have been translated into 38 languages so far. Along with Willem Fre ...

, 1985. Translated from the Dutch. * ''A Night in May'' (''La Nuit de mai'') by

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

, 1989. Translated from the French. * ''A Letter of Time'' by , 1989. Translated from the Dutch (5 of the 7 poems). * ''The Vanishing'' by

Tim Krabbé Hans Maarten Timotheus "Tim" Krabbé (born 13 April 1943) is a Dutch journalist, novelist and chess player. Krabbé was born in Amsterdam. His writing has appeared in most major periodicals in the Netherlands. Once a competitive cyclist, he is kn ...

, 1993. Translated from the Dutch. * ''My Father's War: A Novel'' by

Adriaan van Dis Adriaan van Dis (Bergen aan Zee, 16 December 1946) is a Dutch author. He debuted in 1983 with the novella ''Nathan Sid''. In 1995 his book ''Indische Duinen'' (''My Father's War''), which in its narrative is a follow-up to his debut novella, wa ...

, 1996. Translated from the Dutch.

Other

* ''Joep Nicolas: leven en werk'', 1979 * ''The Bridge'', 1987 * ''River Boy'', 1988 * (ed.) ''

: Letters to His Family : including a selection of letters to

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

'', 1997

References

1925 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American novelists Dutch emigrants to the United States Dutch–English translators American women poets American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American translators Family of Stanford White {{US-novelist-1920s-stub