Herman Gorter
Encyclopedia
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
poet and socialist. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers, a highly influential group of Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
writers who worked together in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in the 1880s, centered around De Nieuwe Gids
De Nieuwe Gids
De Nieuwe Gids was a Dutch illustrated literary periodical which was published from 1885 to 1943. It played an important role in promoting the literary movement of 1880s...
(The New Guide).
Gorter's first book, a 4,000 verse epic poem called "Mei" ("May"), sealed his reputation as a great writer upon its publication in 1889, and is regarded as the pinnacle of Dutch Impressionist literature
Impressionism (literature)
Influenced by the Impressionist art movement, many writers adopted a style that relied on associations. The Dutch Tachtigers explicitly tried to incorporate impressionism into their prose, poems, and other literary works...
. Gorter rapidly followed this up with a book of short lyric poetry simply called "Verzen" ("Verses") in 1890, which, after the initial bad reviews, was equally hailed as a masterpiece.
Gorter shared in common with the Tachtigers an interest in leftist politics, and became the most politically involved of the group, becoming an active writer on socialist theory. He joined the Social Democratic Labour Party
Social Democratic Labour Party
Social Democratic Labour Party may refer to one of the following.*Estonian Social Democratic Labour Party, successor merged into the Estonian United Left Party*Social Democratic Workers' Party...
(Sociaal-Democratische Arbeiderspartij or SDAP) in 1897. In 1909 he participated in a schism from the SDAP to form the Social-Democratic Party
Communist Party of the Netherlands
The Communist Party of the Netherlands was a Dutch communist political party. The CPN is one of the predecessors of the GreenLeft.- Foundation :...
(Sociaal-Democratische Partij) of the Netherlands. He wrote a massive new epic poem called Pan in 1912, describing the First World War being followed by a global Socialist revolution. In 1917, he hailed the Russian revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
as the beginning of that global revolution, although he soon afterward came to oppose Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
.
In 1918 the Social-Democratic Party changed its name to the Communist Party of Holland
Communist Party of the Netherlands
The Communist Party of the Netherlands was a Dutch communist political party. The CPN is one of the predecessors of the GreenLeft.- Foundation :...
(Communistische Partij Holland), and in 1919 Gorter left the party. In 1921 he was a founding member of the Communist Workers Party of Germany
Communist Workers Party of Germany
The Communist Workers Party of Germany was an anti-parliamentarian and council communist party that was active in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic. It was founded in April 1920 in Heidelberg as a split from the Communist Party of Germany...
, joining its Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
Faction and becoming a leading supporter of the Communist Workers International
Communist Workers International
The Communist Workers' International or Fourth International was a council communist international. It was founded around the Manifesto of the Fourth Communist International, published by the Communist Workers' Party of Germany in 1921....
. Gorter died in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
in 1927.
Gorter was involved with the Significs
Significs
Significs is a linguistic and philosophical term introduced by Victoria, Lady Welby in the 1890s. It was later adopted by the Dutch Significs Group of thinkers around Frederik van Eeden, which included L. E. J...
group.
External links
- Herman Gorter archive on Marxists Internet Archive