Paul van Ostaijen

Paul van Ostaijen (Antwerp, February 22 1896 - Miavoye-Anthée, March 18 1928) was a Flemish poet and writer.

His nickname was "Mister 1830", because of his habit of walking along the streets of Antwerp clothed as a dandy from that year.

His poetry shows influences by Modernism, Expressionism, Dadaism and early Surrealism, but Van Ostaijen's style is very much his own.

Van Ostaijen was an active flamingant, a supporter of Flemish independence. Because of his involvement with Flemish activism during World War I, he had to flee to Berlin after the war. In Berlin, one of the centers of Dadaism and Expressionism, he met many other artists. He also went through a severe mental crisis.

After he returned to Belgium, Van Ostaijen opened an art gallery in Brussels. He died of tuberculosis in 1928 in a sanatorium in the Wallonian Ardennes.

Poetry

* "Music hall" (1916)
* "Het sienjaal" ("The signal", 1918)
* "Bezette stad" ("Occupied city", 1921)
* "Feesten van Angst en Pijn" ("Feasts of Fear and Pain", written 1921, published posthumously)
* "Nagelaten gedichten" ("Posthumous poems", published posthumously in 1928)

From the Posthumous Poems:

Zelfmoord des Zeemans

De zeeman
hij hoort de stem der Loreley
hij ziet op zijn horloge
en springt het water in

[The Sailor's Suicide

The sailor
he hears the call of the Loreley
he looks at his watch
and jumps into the water]

Other publications

* "De trust der vaderlandsliefde" ("The trust of patriotism", 1925, grotesques)
* "Gebruiksaanwijzing der lyriek" ("Manual of lyrics", 1926, lecture)
* "Het bordeel van Ika Loch" ("Ika Loch's brothel", 1926, grotesques)
* "De bende van de stronk" ("The stump gang", 1932, grotesques)

ee also

* Flemish literature

External links (all in Dutch)

* [http://www.brakkehond.be/pvo/pvoinh.html "Nagelaten gedichten"]
* [http://users.pandora.be/louis.jacobs/Vanostaijen.html Short biography]
* [http://users.pandora.be/gaston.d.haese/dandy&dichter.html Dandy en dichter]