Martinus Nijhoff, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Martinus Nijhoff

Dutch writer

Date of Birth: 20-Apr-1894

Place of Birth: The Hague, County of Holland, Netherlands

Date of Death: 26-Jan-1953

Profession: writer, poet, translator, resistance fighter, literary critic

Nationality: Kingdom of the Netherlands

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Martinus Nijhoff (20 April 1894 in The Hague – 26 January 1953 in The Hague) was a Dutch poet and essayist.
He studied literature in Amsterdam and law in Utrecht.
His debut was made in 1916 with his volume De wandelaar ("The wanderer").
From that moment he gradually expanded his reputation by his unique style of poetry: not experimental, like Paul Van Ostaijen, yet distinguished by the clarity of his language combined with mystical content.
He was a literary craftsman who employed skilfully various verse forms from different literary epochs. Some of his best-known works include Het Uur U ("H Hour", 1936) and the long poem Awater (1934).
A number of individual sonnets also rose to fame, particularly De Moeder de Vrouw ("The Mother the Woman/Wife") commemorating the opening of a bridge over the river Waal near Zaltbommel.
Joseph Brodsky considered the poem Awater one of the grandest poems of the 20th century.
He was awarded Constantijn Huygens Prize posthumously in 1953.

Koninklijke Bibliotheek

	Native name	Koninklijke Bibliotheek
	Location	The Hague
	Coordinates	52° 04' 50.3? N, 4° 19' 36.3? E
	Established	8 November 1798
	Web page	www.kb.nl
	Authority control	: Q1526131 VIAF: 102145970121932251120 ISNI: 0000 0001 2369 9000 ULAN: 500307428 LCCN: n79130800 NLA: 36189008 WorldCat