Herman Teirlinck

Herman Teirlinck was born in 1879 as Herman Louis Cesar Teirlinck.

He wrote his first poems, Metter Sonnewende (1899) and Verzen (1900).

In 1902, he married his first wife Mathilde Lauwers, and together they had two daughters: Stella and Leentje Teirlinck.

In 1903, he was co-founder of the illustrated magazine Vlaanderen (E: Flanders), which succeeded Van nu en straks (E: Of now and soon).

In 1906, he became Belgian correspondent for the Amsterdam newspaper Het Handelsblad.

In 1909 he published his essay Het Vlaamsch Tooneel (E: Flemish theatre), which showed his appreciation for Edward Gordon Craig.

From 1910 through 1936 he was a teacher of Dutch at the Stedelijke Jongensnormaalschool (E: Urban boy teacher school) in Brussels.

From 1912 until 1926 he was director of the furniture factory Ateliers Victor De Cunsel. He even became secretary of the Wood-industry employers' organization, which allowed him to visit Belgian Congo.

In 1917 he became a member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde (E: Society for Dutch Literature) in Leiden, and in 1919, he became a member of the Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Taal- en Letterkunde (E:Royal Flemish Academy for Language - and Literature).

In 1920 he became teacher of Flemish at the Royal Court of Belgium; in 1933 Private Councillor of King Albert I; in 1934 Councillor for Art and Science of King Leopold III and in 1951 Honorary Councillor for Art and Science of King Baudouin I, in Dutch King Boudewijn I.

He became Officer in the Order of the Crown, by royal Decree of 21.7.1923.

Theatre interested Herman Teirlinck most. He wrote plays such as De vertraagde film (E: Slowed down movie) (1922), Ik dien (E: I serve) (1924) in De man zonder lijf (E: The man without a body) (1925). Other plays are De ekster en de galg (E: The magpie and the gallow) (1937) and Ave (1938) in which he experimented with modern techniques to involve the public more in the action.

From 1925 through 1938, he taught Dutch at the Akademie voor Schone Kunsten (E:Academy for Fine Arts) in Antwerp and from 1928 up to 1936 at the Stedelijke Meisjesnormaalschool (E: Urban little girl teacher school) in Brussels.

In 1928, his first wife died. The same year Herman Teirlinck married Johanna Hoofmans from Linkebeek. Five years later, they moved to the house at the Uwenberg 14 in Beersel.

In Ghent, he met the writer Karel Van de Woestijne, and they would become lifelong friends until the death of Karel Van de Woestijne in 1929.

He was a writer, known for Het kwade oog (1937), Rolande met de bles (1973) and Teatro de siempre (1966).

In his last literary period, which started with the novel Maria Speermalie in 1940, he approached existentialism. Also the free passionate life of people, with its refined over-civilization and its contradicting extremes, he took into consideration.

In 1946 he founded the Studio van het Nationaal Toneel in Antwerp, which would later become the famous Studio Herman Teirlinck. He wanted to create a renewal of the education of actors. With the essay Pointering 48 of 1948, he wrote the basic program for the school. The final foundation of the educational principles of the Studio was written down in the Dramatisch Peripatetikon in 1959.

In 1951 he created the Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord ((Ark Prize of the Free Word). It was a symbolic award to counteract ideologically driven restrictions on the freedom of expression.

His last novel Zelfportret of Het galgemaal appeared in 1955, which was an exercise in self-reflection.