Thea Doelwijt (born December 3, 1938) is a Surinamese-Dutch writer.

Life

Doelwijt's father was Surinamese and her mother was

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. She came to

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

in 1961 where she worked as a journalist for the newspaper, ''

''. She was editor of the magazine, ''Moetete'' (1968–69). Doelwijt wrote two widely read novels, and in the 1970s and 1980s, she wrote many plays, musicals and cabaret acts, including ''A Fat Black Woman Like Me'' and ''Iris''. She developed several important anthologies and wrote children's books. Doelwijt also contributed to the English-language anthology of Surinamese literature, ''Diversity is power'' (2007). As a writer-in-residence, Doelwijt developed major workshops in Suriname. In 1974, she received the Governor Currie Prize. In 1982, after the

December Murders The December murders (Dutch: ''Decembermoorden'') were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on De ...

, Doelwijt returned to 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 ...

, and became a full-time writer. In 1989, she received an award for her contribution to

Surinamese culture Surinamese culture has strong Culture of Asia, Asian, Culture of Africa, African and Culture of Europe, European influences. The population is mainly composed of the contribution of people from Indo-Surinamese, India, Afro-Surinamese, Africa, C ...

. Since 1998, she has been a member of the Society of Dutch Literature. Doelwijt is a contemporary of Benny Ooft.

Selected works

* ''De speelse revolutie'' (1967) * ''Met weinig woorden'' (1968) * ''Wajono'' (1969) * ''Kri! kra! Proza van Suriname'' (1972) * ''Toen Mathilde niet wilde ...'' (1972) * ''Land te koop'', (1973) * ''Geen geraas of getier'' (1974) * ''Kainema de Wreker en de menseneters'' (1977) * ''Rebirth in words'' (1981) * ''Iris'' (1987) * ''Op zoek naar Mari Watson'' (1987) * ''Cora-o'' (1988) * ''Diversity is power'' (2007)

Notes

References

* Michiel van Kempen, ‘Thea Doelwijt’. In: ''Kritisch Lexicon van de Moderne Nederlandstalige Literatuur'', no. 49, May 1993. (Dutch language) * Michiel van Kempen, ''Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur.'' Breda: De Geus, 2003, deel II, p. 72-724, 736, 818-822, 920-921, 925, 1005-1006, 1020, 1184-1185, 1198, 1202-1203. (Dutch language)

External links

Thea Doelwijt at Digital Library for Dutch Literature
(in Dutch. ''De inspiratie van Sophie Redmond'' is available as free download) {{DEFAULTSORT:Doelwijt, Thea 1938 births Living people People from Den Helder 20th-century Dutch novelists 21st-century Dutch novelists Surinamese women writers Dutch women dramatists and playwrights Surinamese journalists Surinamese women journalists Dutch magazine editors Surinamese novelists Surinamese women novelists Dutch women novelists Surinamese dramatists and playwrights Surinamese women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights Dutch women children's writers Surinamese women children's writers Surinamese children's writers 21st-century Dutch women writers 20th-century Dutch women writers Dutch women magazine editors 21st-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights