Gerrit Achterberg (20 May 1905 – 17 January 1962) was a Dutch

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. His early poetry concerned a desire to be united with a beloved in death. Achterberg was born in Nederlangbroek 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 ...

as the third son of a family of eight children. He was raised as a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

within the

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

tradition. His father was a

coachman A coachman is a person who drives a Coach (carriage), coach or carriage, or similar horse-drawn vehicle. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full control of the hors ...

until the

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

gained popularity. Achterberg was a very good student, and in 1924 he embarked on a career as a teacher. In the same year, he made his literary debut together with Arie Dekkers, who had encouraged him to write, together publishing ''De Zangen van Twee Twintigers'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: ''The Songs of Two Twenty-Somethings''). Meanwhile, Achterberg became more withdrawn and introverted. After he was turned down by the military due to "sickness of the soul", he threatened to kill himself. Achterberg's literary career began to take off when presented himself as his mentor. Achterberg published his collection "Afvaart" in 1931, in which his famous theme, of a love irrevocably lost, was already strongly present. After the publication of "Afvaart", Achterberg suffered a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and was committed to a

psychiatric institution A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with c ...

several times. His mental instability caused occasional violent outbursts. These eruptions of violence escalated in 1937. At that time, Achterberg was living in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and was again engaged to be married. On 15 December 1937 he tried to force himself on Bep van Es, the 16-year-old daughter of his landlady. When the latter tried to stop him, he shot and killed her, and wounded her daughter. After the shooting, he turned himself in and was sentenced to

involuntary commitment Involuntary commitment, civil commitment, or involuntary hospitalization/hospitalisation, or informally in Britain sectioning, being sectioned, commitment, or being committed, is a legal process through which an individual who is deemed by a qual ...

. He was committed until 1943. During this commitment and the period following (between 1939 and 1953), he published 22 collections of poetry. In 1946 he married his childhood friend Cathrien van Baak, with whom he lived in

Leusden Leusden () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort. The western part of the municipality lies on the slopes of the Utrecht Hill Rid ...

until he died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in 1962. In 1959, Achterberg received the

Constantijn Huygens Prize The Constantijn Huygens Prize (Dutch: ''Constantijn Huygens-prijs'') is a Dutch literary award.Ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

''Reiziger doet Golgotha'' (''A Tourist Does Golgotha'') and the

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

sequence ''Ballade van de gasfitter'' (1953;''Ballad of the gasfitter'').

J.M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...

included this sonnet sequence in an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

of his English translations of Dutch poetry entitled ''Landscape with Rowers'' (2004). Earlier in his career, Coetzee also wrote an

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

on this sonnet sequence, titled: 'Achterberg's "Ballade van de gasfitter": The Mystery of I and You' (1977),in which he discusses the shifting point of view in relation the main character of the poem. The essay is included in: J.M. Coetzee, ''Doubling the Point'', Harvard University Press 1992, p.69-90.

References

External links

Dutch Royal Library - Detailed Biography and Bibliography in DutchFile Gerrit Achterberg in the Digital Library of Dutch Literature (DBNL)
(including bibliography, primary and secondary texts) {{DEFAULTSORT:Achterberg, Gerrit 1905 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Dutch poets 20th-century Dutch male writers Dutch male poets Dutch murderers Constantijn Huygens Prize winners P. C. Hooft Award winners People from Wijk bij Duurstede

See also

References

External links