biography
pronunciation:
[komriy]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1944– )
|
| biography:
| Poet, essayist, novelist, playwright, and translator, born in Winterswijk, E Netherlands. He studied literature in Amsterdam but never completed his studies. In 1968 he made his debut with Maagdenburgse bollen (Magdenburg Bulbs), a collection of poems which displays his love for archaic language, classical form, and stylistic skill. As a novelist, his style is sarcastic and caricatural, dealing with decadent themes such as death, decay, isolation, and suffering. As an essayist and commentator, he demonstrates the same sarcasm which is sometimes offensive and arouses strong response. His anthologies of Dutch poetry were much acclaimed and established a revaluation of forgotten or underestimated poets. In addition, he received a great deal of recognition for his Shakespeare translations and his adaptation of the mediaeval abele spelen. In 1993 he was awarded the P C Hooft-prijs for his essays. |
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