Cornelis Buddingh' (7 August 1918 - 24 November 1985) was a Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, TV-presenter, translator

Translation

Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

, and the father of Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...

 translator Wiebe Buddingh'. Amongst others he translated A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....

 and the complete works of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 into Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

.

Poetry

In the early years of his career Kees Buddingh' mainly wrote surreal

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....

 poems. In 1941 his first poems were published. These were illegal publications because of the German occupation in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. His most famous poem from his surreal period was 'De Blauwbilgorgel' (Bluebillgurgle) from 1942. The title was taken from a book by E. Nesbitt. Throughout his life, Buddingh' felt a strong connection to his native town of Dordrecht

Dordrecht

Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...

 and the city features in many of his works including the poem "Ode aan Dordrecht". In 1975 he has written the "Boekenweek

Boekenweek

In 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". Buddingh' published a translation of a volume of poetry by D.J. Enright, Paradise Illustrated in 1982.