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Willem Elsschot




Willem Elsschot ( 7 May 1882 - 31 May 1960 ), was a Flemish writer and poet ( Pseudonym of '''Alfons-Jozef De Ridder'''). Few of his works have been translated into English.


LIFE

Alfons-Jozef was born in Antwerp to a Baker 's family. During secondary school, he developed a love for literature. He was quite restless, having various types of jobs in cities from Antwerp and Brussels to Rotterdam and Paris . During the First World War , he served as the secretary of a national food relief committee in Antwerp. After the war he started his own Advertising agency, which he ran until his death.

Willem Elsschot died in Antwerp in 1960 , receiving a national literary award posthumously. he is interred in the Antwerpen Schoonselhof .


WORKS

:For the translation of the titles, see the "Bibliography" section

Elsschot published poems in a magazine titled "''Alvoorder''". His writing took off while he worked in ), ''Kaas'' ( 1933 ), ''Tsjip'' ( 1934 ) en ''Het Been'' ( 1938 ).

Central themes in his work are Business and Family Life . His style is characterised by detailed descriptions of surroundings and a mild Cynicism .


BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • ''Villa des Roses'' ( 1913 ; translated in 1992 by Paul Vincent 1-86207-616-2 )

  • ''Een ontgoocheling'' ("A Disappointment", 1921 )

  • ''De verlossing'' ("Deliverance", 1921)

  • ''Lijmen'' ( 1924 , translated as "Soft Soap" and collected in ''Three Novels'', 1965 )

  • ''Kaas'' ("Cheese", 1933 , translated in 2002 by Paul Vincent 1-86207-481-X - Review )

  • ''Tsjip'' ( 1934 )

  • ''Verzen van vroeger'' ("Poems from the Past", 1934 )

  • ''Pensioen'' ("Pension", 1937 )

  • ''Het been'' ( 1938 , translated as "The Leg" and collected in ''Three Novels'')

  • ''De leeuwentemmer'' ("The Lion Tamer", 1940 )

  • ''Het tankschip'' ("The Mammoth Tanker", 1942 )

  • ''Het dwaallicht'' ( 1946 , short story, translated as "Will o' the Wisp" and collected in ''Three Novels'')

  • ''Verzameld werk'' ("Collected works", 1957 )



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