Adriaan van Dis
Encyclopedia
Adriaan van Dis is a Dutch author, with Indo (Eurasian) roots, who debuted in 1983 with the novella Nathan Sid. He is also known as the host of his own television show.
who had met each other in the Dutch East Indies
. By then his mother already had three daughters from her marriage to a Royal Dutch East Indies Army KNIL soldier. His father had been married before as well, in the East Indies. His family had been heavily affected by the war. As a survivor of the Junyo Maru
, which had been torpedoed by the Brits, his father was put to work on the Pakan Baroe
railroad on Sumatra
. Adriaan van Dis's mother's first husband was decapitated during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945) and she ended up in an interment camp along with her daughters. Adriaan, born after the war, in The Netherlands, was an outsider in his own family because he was the only white child and had no history in the Indies. His surroundings contributed to this sense of loneliness. Bergen aan Zee was home to many people who had come from the East Indies and Adriaan grew up in a house that he shared with four repatriated families.
Adriaan's parents were unable to get married. While his father's marriage had been disbanded under Islamic law, that divorce had no legal validity in The Netherlands. Nobody was allowed to know this, and so, for the sake of the outside world, Adriaan took on his father's surname. However, officially his surname remained his mother's: Van Dis. When Adriaan went to college, he actually began using his real name.
His father had been traumatised by the war and was unable to work. Furthermore, he found it difficult to find a place in The Netherlands as a migrant; he never felt like he fit in. He was always home and raised Adriaan in a conservative manner, frequently beating him. Adriaan remembers him as a cruel man, but also as a victim of circumstances.
. Within that language he recognized much of the Petjo
that his family had jokingly spoken at homes occasionally: a creole with many unusual intonations. Van Dis also identified with the charged discussions of skin color in South African literature. In 1979 he received his doctoral degree wit a dissertation about a text by the author Breyten Breytenbach
, who was to influence his later writing, and some of whose books Van Dis has translated into Dutch.
and after graduating he remained connected to the paper until 1982, working for the Saturday Supplement. His debut novella "Nathan Sid"" came out of a regular cooking column in which he wrote about his memories of food. Those memories were strongly connected to the struggles between his parents - between the potatoes and the rice. Publisher J.M. Meulenhoff
turned these contributions into a short book. Van Dis had little confidence in its success, but it was received with great enthusiasm, and received the Gouden Ezelsoor literary prize for best sold debut in 1984.
In 1983 Van Dis also made his debut as television presenter and became known in the Netherlands through a literary talk show. This show aired until 3 May 1992. From 1999 until 2002 he returned to host a television show entitled "Zomergasten", with which he ended, according to himself, his TV career.
Adriaan van Dis is a prolific writer whose work is very popular in The Netherlands, where he is a household name. In 2008 he decided to briefly resume his television career with a 7 part series entitled "Van Dis in Afrika" in which he reported on his travels to Southern Africa. The series won the "Zilveren Nipkowschijf"
Youth
His father was an Indies-Dutchman and his mother a farmer's daughter from BredaBreda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
who had met each other in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. By then his mother already had three daughters from her marriage to a Royal Dutch East Indies Army KNIL soldier. His father had been married before as well, in the East Indies. His family had been heavily affected by the war. As a survivor of the Junyo Maru
Junyo Maru
The was a Japanese cargo ship that was sunk in 1944 by the British submarine , resulting in the loss of over 5,000 lives.The ship was built in 1913 by Robert Duncan Co. Glasgow. It displaced 5,065 tons, was long, wide, and deep. The engines were rated at...
, which had been torpedoed by the Brits, his father was put to work on the Pakan Baroe
Pekanbaru
Pekanbaru is the capital of Riau, a province in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. It has an area of 632.26 km² and a population of 903,902. Located on the Siak River, which drains to the Strait of Malacca...
railroad on Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
. Adriaan van Dis's mother's first husband was decapitated during the Japanese occupation (1942–1945) and she ended up in an interment camp along with her daughters. Adriaan, born after the war, in The Netherlands, was an outsider in his own family because he was the only white child and had no history in the Indies. His surroundings contributed to this sense of loneliness. Bergen aan Zee was home to many people who had come from the East Indies and Adriaan grew up in a house that he shared with four repatriated families.
Adriaan's parents were unable to get married. While his father's marriage had been disbanded under Islamic law, that divorce had no legal validity in The Netherlands. Nobody was allowed to know this, and so, for the sake of the outside world, Adriaan took on his father's surname. However, officially his surname remained his mother's: Van Dis. When Adriaan went to college, he actually began using his real name.
His father had been traumatised by the war and was unable to work. Furthermore, he found it difficult to find a place in The Netherlands as a migrant; he never felt like he fit in. He was always home and raised Adriaan in a conservative manner, frequently beating him. Adriaan remembers him as a cruel man, but also as a victim of circumstances.
Education
His father died in 1956 when Adriaan was ten. Despite their difficult relationship, Adriaan was hit hard by his loss, which had a negative effect on his performance in school. Through various schools however, he ended up in Amsterdam to study Dutch. There he came into contact with AfrikaansAfrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
. Within that language he recognized much of the Petjo
Petjo
Petjo, also known as Petjoh, Petjok, Pecok, is a Dutch-based creole language that originated among the Indos, people of mixed Dutch and Indonesian ancestry in the former Dutch East Indies. The language has influences from Dutch, Javanese and Betawi. Its speakers presently live mostly in Indonesia...
that his family had jokingly spoken at homes occasionally: a creole with many unusual intonations. Van Dis also identified with the charged discussions of skin color in South African literature. In 1979 he received his doctoral degree wit a dissertation about a text by the author Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach is a South African writer and painter with French citizenship.-Biography:Breyten Breytenbach was born in Bonnievale, Western Cape, approximately 180 km from Cape Town and 100 km from the southernmost tip of Africa at Cape Agulhas...
, who was to influence his later writing, and some of whose books Van Dis has translated into Dutch.
Career
During his college days Van Dis was already working as editor with the NRC HandelsbladNRC Handelsblad
NRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
and after graduating he remained connected to the paper until 1982, working for the Saturday Supplement. His debut novella "Nathan Sid"" came out of a regular cooking column in which he wrote about his memories of food. Those memories were strongly connected to the struggles between his parents - between the potatoes and the rice. Publisher J.M. Meulenhoff
J.M. Meulenhoff
J.M. Meulenhoff is a Dutch publishing house, which has built a reputation publishing literary works in Dutch and in translation. For many decades, the company was led by Laurens van Krevelen, who received the Jan Hein Donner Award in 2007.In 2001, the company's reputation was damaged...
turned these contributions into a short book. Van Dis had little confidence in its success, but it was received with great enthusiasm, and received the Gouden Ezelsoor literary prize for best sold debut in 1984.
In 1983 Van Dis also made his debut as television presenter and became known in the Netherlands through a literary talk show. This show aired until 3 May 1992. From 1999 until 2002 he returned to host a television show entitled "Zomergasten", with which he ended, according to himself, his TV career.
Adriaan van Dis is a prolific writer whose work is very popular in The Netherlands, where he is a household name. In 2008 he decided to briefly resume his television career with a 7 part series entitled "Van Dis in Afrika" in which he reported on his travels to Southern Africa. The series won the "Zilveren Nipkowschijf"
Novels
- 1987 Een barbaar in China: een reis door Centraal Azië
- 1988 Zilver of Het verlies van de onschuld
- 1990 Het beloofde land: een reis door de Karoo
- 1991 In Afrika
- 1994 Indische Duinen
- 1999 Dubbelliefde: geschiedenis van een jongeman
- 2002 Familieziek
- 2007 De wandelaar
- 2010 Tikkop
Novellas
- 1983 Nathan Sid
- 1986 De vraatzuchtige spreekt
- 1986 De rat van Arras
- 1987 Zoen
- 1996 Palmwijn ("BoekenweekBoekenweekIn the Netherlands, the Boekenweek is an annual "week" of ten days dedicated to Dutch literature. It is held in March since 1932. Each Boekenweek has a theme. The beginning of the Boekenweek is marked by the Boekenbal , a gathering that is attended by writers and publishers...
geschenk") - 2000 Op oorlogspad in Japan
Short stories
- 1984 Een bord met spaghetti
- 1986 Casablanca
- 1988 Een keuze uit mijn vrolijke doodsgedachten
- 1992 De man uit het Noorden
- 1992 Waar twee olifanten vechten – Mozambique in oorlog
- 1993 Classics
- 1995 Wij, koningin
- 1997 Een waarze sat
- 2003 Vrijtaal
- 2007 Leeftocht. veertig jaar onderweg ISBN 978 90457 00670
Non-fiction
- 1992 Alles is te koop (manifesto)
- 1998 Een deken van herinnering (essay)
- 1998 Totok (poetry)
- 2004 Onder het zink. Un abécédaire de Paris (essay)
- 2007 Op de televisie (memoir)
- 2008 Van Dis in Afrika (documentary series)
Literary prizes
- 1984 The Gouden Ezelsoor for Nathan Sid
- 1994 The Nieuwe Clercke-Pico Bello-prize for his services to Dutch literature
- 1995 Gouden Uil for Indische Duinen
- 1995 Trouw Publieksprijs for Indische Duinen
- 2007 Groenman Taalprijs from the Stichting Lout, part of the Onze Taal society, for his clear and creative use of language
- 2009 The Gouden GanzenveerGouden GanzenveerThe Gouden Ganzenveer is a Dutch cultural award initiated in 1955, given annually to a person or organization of great significance to the written and printed word. Recipients are selected by an academy of people from the cultural, political, scientific, and corporate world. Members meet once a...
Other Indo authors
- Louis CouperusLouis CouperusLouis Marie-Anne Couperus was a Dutch novelist and poet during the Belle Époque. There is a wide variety of genres in his oeuvre, which contains poetry, fairy tales, psychological novels, and historical novels...
(1863–1923) - Ernest Douwes DekkerErnest Douwes DekkerErnest François Eugène Douwes Dekker was an Indonesian freedom fighter and politician of Indo descent. He was related to the famous Dutch writer, Multatuli, whose real name was Eduard Douwes Dekker. In his youth, he took part in the Second Boer War in South Africa on the Boer side...
(1879–1950) - Maria DermoûtMaria DermoûtMaria Dermoût , was an Indo novelist, considered one of the greats of Dutch literature and as such an important proponent of Dutch Indies literature...
(1888–1962) - Edgar du PerronEdgar du PerronCharles Edgar du Perron, more commonly known as E. du Perron, was a famous and influential Dutch poet and author of Indo-European descent. Best known for his literary acclaimed master piece ‘Land van herkomst’ of 1935...
(1899–1940) - Marion BloemMarion BloemMarion Bloem is a Dutch writer and film maker of Indo descent, best known as author of the literary acclaimed book Geen gewoon Indisch meisje and director of the 2008 feature film Ver van familie .Bloem is a second generation Indo immigrant born into a family of four...
(1952- )