- Jozef Simons
Jozef Simons (Oelegem, 21 May 1888 -
Turnhout , 20 January 1948) was a Flemishwriter andpoet . Jozef Simons was active in the socio-cultural life of theCampine , among other things as a President of the "Association of Campine writers" (1937-1948). Together withFelix Timmermans ,Stijn Streuvels and the poetJozef De Voght het was one the writers of the Belgian Campine during theinterbellum .Jozef Simons was born in the Kerkstraat 18 in Oelegem as a son of Louis Simons and Maria Pauline Verheyen. After graduating in commercial sciences at the Institut Supérieur de Commerce Saint-Ignace in Antwerp, Simons became from 1909 up to 1923 house teacher of
Count Brouchoven de Bergeyck in Beveren-Waas. DuringWorld War I , from 1916 and until 1919 he served as a soldier, first as agunner , afterwards as interpreter for theBritish army . On 8 May 1920 he married Maria Engels, and lived inSchilde . When Count Jozef de Brouchoven de Bergeyck died in in 1922, he lost his position as a house teacher. From 1 December 1923 up to 1932 he worked as an editor for the "Belgian Farmer Association" (Boerenbond) and moved toLeuven . He graduated in 1927 with a Master's degree in archaeology and art history at theCatholic University of Leuven . From 1932 onwards until his death in 1948, he worked as an editor at the "N.V J. van Mierlo-Proost" inTurnhout . During theinterbellum , betweenWorld War I andWorld War II , Simons built a reputation as an author of travel tales, tales concerning theCampine ("Harslucht", E: Resin air, 1933), short stories ("De laatste fles", E: The last bottle, 1930) andnovel s ("Dientje Goris", 1935), and as a translator from English, Spanish, and German. He also wrote many song texts, for composers such asLodewijk De Vocht ,Flor Peeters andArmand Preud'homme .The most important work of Jozef Simons was "Eer Vlaanderen vergaat" (E: Before Flanders perishes (1927), a romantic history of the
Frontbeweging (E:front movement). The first edition appeared under the pseudonym Ivo Draulans.ource
* Marcel Verheecke, "Jozef Simons, verteller, zanger, Kempenaar", 1963
* Henri Floris Jespers, "Eer Vlaanderen vergaat, Jozef Simons (1888-1948)", 1988
* Gaston Durnez, "Denkend aan Jozef Simons: Een goede kracht in het hart van het volk", 1993External links
* [http://users.telenet.be/louis.jacobs/Simons.htm Jozef Simons] (Dutch)
* [http://home.scarlet.be/%7Egymwinfo/js011.htm Jozef Simons] (Dutch)
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