Louis Ferron

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Louis Ferron
Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs (1994), Constantijn Huygens Prijs (2001)
SpouseLilian Blom
Website
www.louis-ferron.nl

Louis Ferron (born Karl Heinz Beckering; 4 February 1942 – 26 August 2005) was a Dutch novelist and poet.

Biography

Louis Ferron was born in Leiden out of an adulterous relationship between a married German soldier and a waitress from Haarlem named Ferron. His father took the boy to Germany, and when he was killed shortly before the end of World War II, Karl Heinz was raised in Bremen as the stepchild of his father's widow. After the war he returned to the Netherlands, where he was renamed Aloysius (Louis) Ferron. He was raised by his mother's parents, but also stayed with foster families and in children's homes. Initially he desired to be a painter; at age 18, he married a daughter of the author Lizzy Sara May, and his wife encouraged him to become a writer.[1]

Ferron's literary debut was a set of poems called "Kleine Krijgskunde," in the May 1962 issue of the literary journal

James Baldwin and Vladimir Nabokov.[2]

He died of intestinal cancer, three days after receiving the first copy of his last novel, Niemandsbruid.[3]

Themes

Ferron's work involves topics found in the work of

postmodern, especially considering his presentation of reality as unknowable. In Turkenvespers (1977), for instance, the protagonist (an unreliable narrator to begin with), finally no longer knows whether he himself exists independently, or is only an actor in the imagination of a perverse movie director.[5]

In his treatment of historical subjects Ferron also thematizes a rather unclear reality. Especially German history fascinated him; the novels Gekkenschemer, Het stierenoffer, and De keisnijder van Fichtenwald are often referred to as his "Teutonic trilogy,"[3] and were republished in a single volume in 2002.

Awards

  • Multatuliprijs
    , 1977, De Keisnijder van Fichtenwald of de Metamorfose van een Bultenaar
  • AKO Literatuurprijs
    , 1990, Karelische nachten
  • Ferdinand Bordewijk Prijs
    , 1994, De walsenkoning
  • Constantijn Huygens Prijs
    , 2001, for his entire oeuvre

Select bibliography

  • Gekkenschemer. Amsterdam: .
  • Het stierenoffer. Amsterdam: .
  • De keisnijder van Fichtenwald: of de metamorfosen van een bultenaar. Amsterdam: .
  • Turkenvespers. Amsterdam: .
  • Karelische nachten. Amsterdam: .
  • De walsenkoning: een duik in het autobiografische diepe. Amsterdam: .
  • Een aap in de wolken: de niet zo vrolijke ballade van een monter ingezet kunstenaarschap. Amsterdam: .
  • Niemandsbruid. Amsterdam: .

References

  1. ^ "26-08-2005 Louis Ferron overleden". Literatuurplein.nl. 2005-08-26. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  2. DBNL
    . Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  3. ^ a b Sloot, Sarah (2005-12-09). "Afsluiting van een oeuvre: Louis Ferron - Niemandsbruid". 8Weekly. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  4. ^ Freriks, Kester (2007). "'Laat je zwarte metaforen woeden': Over het werk van Louis Ferron". Ons Erfdeel. 40 (2): 187. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  5. ^ Wesseling, Lies. "Louis Ferron en de historische roman". Retrieved 2009-07-18. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)