Jozef Simons (21 May 1888, in

Oelegem Oelegem is a village and ''deelgemeente'' (sub-municipality) of the municipality of Ranst in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. The village is located about east of the city of Antwerp. History Oelegem is located on the border of the Campine ...

– 20 January 1948, in

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgian municipality and city located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. In 2021, Turnhout had a total population of 45,874. The total area is . The agglomeration, how ...

) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

writer and poet. Jozef Simons was active in the socio-cultural life of the

Campine The Campine (French ) or De Kempen ( Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

, among other things as a President of the ''Association of Campine writers'' (1937–1948). Together with

Felix Timmermans Leopold Maximiliaan Felix Timmermans (5 July 1886 – 24 January 1947) is a much translated author from Flanders. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times. Life Timmermans was born in the Belgian city of Lier, as the thi ...

Ernest Claes Andreas Ernestus Josephus Claes (24 October 1885 in Zichem – 2 September 1968 in Elsene) was a Belgian author. He is best known for his regional novels, including ''De Witte'' ("Whitey"), which was the source material for the first Flemish movie ...

and the poet

Jozef De Voght Jozef or Józef is a Dutch, Breton, Polish and Slovak version of masculine given name Joseph. A selection of people with that name follows. For a comprehensive list see and .. * Józef Beck (1894–1944), Polish foreign minister in the 1930s ...

he was one the writers of the Belgian Campine during the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. Jozef Simons was born in the Kerkstraat 18 in Oelegem as a son of Louis Simons and Maria Pauline Verheyen. After graduating in commercial sciences at the Institut Supérieur de Commerce Saint-Ignace in Antwerp, Simons became from 1909 up to 1923 house teacher of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

Brouchoven de Bergeyck in

Beveren-Waas Beveren () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') is in Bever ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, from 1916 and until 1919 he served as a soldier, first as a

gunner Gunner, the Gunner, Gunners or the Gunners may refer to: Places * Gunner Bay, Bermuda * Gunner River, New Zealand * Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges, a nature reserve in Essex, England * Gunners Pond, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada * Mount Gu ...

, afterwards as interpreter for the

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

. On 8 May 1920 he married Maria Engels, and lived in

Schilde Schilde () is a municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subor ...

. When Count Jozef de Brouchoven de Bergeyck died in 1922, he lost his position as a house teacher. From 1 December 1923 up to 1932 he worked as an editor for the ''Belgian Farmer Association'' (Boerenbond) and moved to

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. Th ...

. He graduated in 1927 with a Master's degree in archaeology and art history at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of L ...

. From 1932 onwards until his death in 1948, he worked as publisher, editor and general factotum at the ''N.V J. van Mierlo-Proost'' in

. During the

, between

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Simons built a reputation as an author of travel tales, tales concerning the

(''Harslucht'', E: Resin air, 1933), short stories (''De laatste fles'', E: The last bottle, 1930) and novels (''Dientje Goris'', 1935), and as a translator from English, Spanish, and German. He also wrote many song texts, for composers such as

Lodewijk De Vocht Lodewijk () is the Dutch name for Louis. In specific it may refer to: Given name Literature * Lodewijk Hartog van Banda (1916–2006), Dutch comic strip writer * Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht Boon, (1912-1979) Flemish writer * Lodewijk van Deysse ...

Flor Peeters Franciscus Florentinus Peeters, Baron Peeters (4 July 1903 – 4 July 1986) was a Belgian composer, organist and academic teacher. He was director of the Conservatorium in Antwerp, Belgium, and organist at Mechelen Cathedral from 1923 to his deat ...

and

Armand Preud'homme Armand Preud'homme (21 February 1904, in Peer – 7 February 1986, in Brasschaat) was a Belgian componist and organist. Biography Preud'homme studied at the Limburg Organ and Singing School in Hasselt with Arthur Meulemans and at the Lemmens In ...

. The most important work of Jozef Simons was ''Eer Vlaanderen vergaat'' (E: Before Flanders perishes (1927), a romantic history of the

Frontbeweging The ''Frontpartij'' (Dutch; "Front Party") was a Belgian political party that campaigned for increasing recognition for the Flemish people and their language. Originating from the earlier ''Frontbeweging'' ("Front Movement"), the ''Frontpartij'' w ...

(E:front movement). The first edition appeared under the pseudonym Ivo Draulans.

Sources

* Marcel Verheecke, ''Jozef Simons, verteller, zanger, Kempenaar'', 1963 * Henri Floris Jespers, ''Eer Vlaanderen vergaat, Jozef Simons (1888–1948)'', 1988 * Gaston Durnez, ''Denkend aan Jozef Simons: Een goede kracht in het hart van het volk'', 1993

External links

Jozef Simons
(Dutch)

(Dutch) {{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Jozef 1888 births 1948 deaths 20th-century Belgian poets Belgian military personnel of World War I Flemish poets People from Ranst