Gustaaf Segers (29 December 1848 – 3 April 1930) was a Flemish writer, Dutch and German teacher and Vondel scholar.

Biography

He graduated from the state normal school in Lier as a teacher. He received his first appointment in 1868 in the municipal education of

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

. In 1873 a story by Segers was published in ''De Vlaamsche Kunstbode''. In 1875 he became a teacher in Antwerp, and in 1879 he became a teacher of

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' ...

and literature and of German language at the normal school in Lier. His debut ''Dorpsgeschiedenissen'' was also published that year. A second collection of short stories, ''In de Kempen'' followed in 1882. During his career Segers published several essays on Joost van den Vondel, the first in 1887. In total, he produced about thirty texts about this writer, his life and his work. His first novel, ''Twee beren'', was published in 1890. In addition to creative work (novels, novellas and short stories), he was also the author of essays on parenting, education and language teaching. Segers was a strong opponent of teaching a second language in primary education. He believed that at that age the study of a second language prevented a solid knowledge of the mother tongue. He was invited on 11 July 1894 to become a corresponding member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Language and Literature as the successor of , who became an ordinary member. On 17 December 1900, he became a full member, succeeding , who died that year. A street in Hoogstraten is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Segers, Gustaaf 1848 births 1930 deaths 19th-century Belgian novelists 20th-century Belgian novelists 19th-century Belgian educators 20th-century Belgian educators Belgian short story writers Belgian academics Belgian scholars People from Hoogstraten