Rob Nieuwenhuys
Encyclopedia
Rob Nieuwenhuys was a Dutch
writer of Indo descent. The son of a 'Totok' Dutchman and an Indo-European mother, he and his younger brother Roelof, grew up in Batavia, where his father was the managing director of the renowned Hotel des Indes (Batavia)
.
His Indies
childhood profoundly influenced his life and work. His Javanese nanny 'nènèk' (English: grandma) Tidjah and particularly his Eurasian mother created the benchmarks of his childhood environment. In his award winning book Oost-Indische spiegel, he states: "If I write about my childhood, I write about her world." and "My Indies youth was critical to my receptiveness to particular cultural patterns. It ingrained a relationship with Indonesia that is irreplaceable."
Nieuwenhuys is the Nestor of Dutch Indies literature
.
In 1935 he returned to the Dutch East Indies and befriended his mentor, the iconic Indo writer E. du Perron
. Perron influenced him to study the literary work of P.A. Daum
and upcoming writer Beb Vuyk
. He joined anti-colonial magazines as a writer, researcher and critic.
In 1941 he was a conscript medic in the KNIL and from 1942 to 1945 a Japanese POW. In the Japanese concentration camp Tjimahi he was part of a small group of intellectuals, including Leo Vroman
and the iconic Tjalie Robinson
, that for a while was able to print a camp periodical named 'Kampkroniek' (Camp Chronicles) and a pamphlet named 'Onschendbaar Domein' (Inviolable Domain).
From 1945-1947 he stayed in the Netherlands to recuperate from the war and evaded the violence of the Bersiap
period.
In 1947 he returned to his land of birth during the continuing Indonesian revolution and set up a cultural and literary magazine in an attempt to mitigate the Dutch-Indonesian alienation via art and literature. Although Indonesian intellectuals and artists were receptive to this unique forum political developments and strong anti-Dutch sentiments surpassed all good intentions. In 1952 Nieuwenhuys repatriated to the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands Nieuwenhuys became a teacher and pursued a literary career. He became a highly influential literary scholar and author and won numerous awards throughout his career, among them the 1983 Constantijn Huygens Prize
.
'Mirror of the Indies: A History of Dutch Colonial Literature' translated from Dutch by E. M. Beekman (Publisher: Periplus, 1999) Book review.
Profile at the Institute of Netherlands History (ING).
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...
writer of Indo descent. The son of a 'Totok' Dutchman and an Indo-European mother, he and his younger brother Roelof, grew up in Batavia, where his father was the managing director of the renowned Hotel des Indes (Batavia)
Hotel des Indes (Batavia)
Hotel des Indes was one of the oldest and most prestigious hotels in Asia. Located in Batavia , in the Dutch East Indies . The hotel had accommodated countless famous patrons throughout its existence from 1829 to 1971...
.
His 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....
childhood profoundly influenced his life and work. His Javanese nanny 'nènèk' (English: grandma) Tidjah and particularly his Eurasian mother created the benchmarks of his childhood environment. In his award winning book Oost-Indische spiegel, he states: "If I write about my childhood, I write about her world." and "My Indies youth was critical to my receptiveness to particular cultural patterns. It ingrained a relationship with Indonesia that is irreplaceable."
Nieuwenhuys is the Nestor of Dutch Indies literature
Dutch Indies literature
Dutch Indies literature or Dutch East Indies literature is a section of Dutch literature encompassing Dutch language literature inspired by colonial and post-colonial Insulinde from the Dutch Golden Age to the present day. It includes Dutch, Indo-European and Indonesian authors...
.
Life in a nutshell
In 1927 he (and his brother) moved to the Netherlands and enrolled in the University of Leiden, but abhorred academic life and never completed his study at the Faculty of Arts. He did however become acquainted with Indonesian nationalists studying in the Netherlands and adopted anti-colonial convictions.In 1935 he returned to the Dutch East Indies and befriended his mentor, the iconic Indo writer E. du Perron
Edgar du Perron
Charles 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...
. Perron influenced him to study the literary work of P.A. Daum
Paulus Adrianus Daum
Paulus Adrianus Daum , more commonly known as P.A.Daum, was a Dutch author of Dutch East Indies literature of the nineteenth century....
and upcoming writer Beb Vuyk
Beb Vuyk
Elizabeth Vuyk was a Dutch writer of Indo descent. Her Indo father was born in the Dutch East Indies and had a mother from Madura, but was ‘repatriated’ to the Netherlands on a very young age. He married into a typically Calvinist Dutch family and lived in the port city of Rotterdam...
. He joined anti-colonial magazines as a writer, researcher and critic.
In 1941 he was a conscript medic in the KNIL and from 1942 to 1945 a Japanese POW. In the Japanese concentration camp Tjimahi he was part of a small group of intellectuals, including Leo Vroman
Leo Vroman
Leo Vroman is a Dutch-American hematologist, a prolific poet mainly in Dutch and an illustrator. Vroman was born in Gouda and he studied biology in Utrecht. When the Nazis occupied the Netherlands on May 10, 1940, he fled to London. From there he traveled to the Dutch East Indies. He finished his...
and the iconic Tjalie Robinson
Tjalie Robinson
Tjalie Robinson is the main alias of the Indo intellectual and writer Jan Boon also known as Vincent Mahieu. His father Cornelis Boon, a KNIL sergeant, was Dutch and his Indo-European mother Fela Robinson was part English and Javanese...
, that for a while was able to print a camp periodical named 'Kampkroniek' (Camp Chronicles) and a pamphlet named 'Onschendbaar Domein' (Inviolable Domain).
From 1945-1947 he stayed in the Netherlands to recuperate from the war and evaded the violence of the Bersiap
Bersiap
Bersiap is the name given by the Dutch to a violent and chaotic phase of Indonesia's revolutionary period following the end of World War II. The Indonesian word bersiap means 'get ready' or 'be prepared'...
period.
In 1947 he returned to his land of birth during the continuing Indonesian revolution and set up a cultural and literary magazine in an attempt to mitigate the Dutch-Indonesian alienation via art and literature. Although Indonesian intellectuals and artists were receptive to this unique forum political developments and strong anti-Dutch sentiments surpassed all good intentions. In 1952 Nieuwenhuys repatriated to the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands Nieuwenhuys became a teacher and pursued a literary career. He became a highly influential literary scholar and author and won numerous awards throughout his career, among them the 1983 Constantijn Huygens Prize
Constantijn Huygens Prize
The Constantijn Huygens Prize is a Dutch literary award.-History:Since 1947, it has been awarded each year for an author's complete works by the Jan Campert Foundation , a foundation named in honor of the Dutch writer Jan Campert who died while helping Jews during WWII...
.
Prices
- 1959 - 'Essay prize Amsterdam' for De zaak Lebak na honderd jaar
- 1973 - 'Special prize Jan Campert foundation' for Oost-Indische spiegel
- 1975 - 'Dr. Wijnaendts Francken prize' for Oost-Indische spiegel
- 1983 - 'Constantijn Huygens prize' for complete work
- 1984 - honorary doctorate of Leiden UniversityLeiden UniversityLeiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
Publications
- 1932 - Een vergeten romantikus
- 1954 - Vergeelde portretten uit een Indisch familiealbum
- 1959 - Tussen twee vaderlanden
- 1961 - Tempo Doeloe, fotografische documenten uit het oude Indië, 1870-1914 (Alias: E. Breton de Nijs)
- 1962 - De pen in gal gedoopt; een keuze uit brieven en documenten van Herman Neubronner van der TuukHerman Neubronner van der TuukHerman Neubronner van der Tuuk was a Bible translator and linguist specialising in the languages of the Dutch East Indies.-Early years and studies:...
. - 1964 - De dominee en zijn worgengel, van en over François Haverschmidt
- 1966 - De onuitputtelijke natuur
- 1972 - Oost-Indische spiegel
'Mirror of the Indies: A History of Dutch Colonial Literature' translated from Dutch by E. M. Beekman (Publisher: Periplus, 1999) Book review.
- 1976 - Batavia, koningin van het Oosten
- 1979 - Een beetje oorlog
- 1981 - Baren en oudgasten, dl. I, fotografische documenten uit het oude Indië, 1870-1920
- 1982 - Komen en blijven
- 1987 - De mythe van Lebak (ISBN 9028206620)
- 1988 - Met vreemde ogen
- 1990 - Oost-Indisch magazijn. De geschiedenis van de Indisch-Nederlandse letterkunde
- 1995 - De bevrijding in de Oost
- 1998 - Baren en oudgasten: Tempo doeloe, een verzonken wereld (ISBN 9021476878)
- 1998 - Komen en blijven: Tempo doeloe, een verzonken wereld (ISBN 9021476886)
- 1998 - Met vreemde ogen: Tempo doeloe, een verzonken wereld (ISBN 9021476894)
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) - Victor IdoVictor IdoVictor Ido is the main alias of the Indo Dutch language writer and journalist Hans van de Wall. Born in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies from a Dutch father and Indo mother...
(1869-1948) - 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) - Beb VuykBeb VuykElizabeth Vuyk was a Dutch writer of Indo descent. Her Indo father was born in the Dutch East Indies and had a mother from Madura, but was ‘repatriated’ to the Netherlands on a very young age. He married into a typically Calvinist Dutch family and lived in the port city of Rotterdam...
(1905–1991) - Tjalie RobinsonTjalie RobinsonTjalie Robinson is the main alias of the Indo intellectual and writer Jan Boon also known as Vincent Mahieu. His father Cornelis Boon, a KNIL sergeant, was Dutch and his Indo-European mother Fela Robinson was part English and Javanese...
(1911–1974) - Ernst JanszErnst JanszErnst Gideon Jansz is one of the founding members and frontmen of Doe Maar. Doe Maar is a Dutch 1980s ska/reggae band, and is considered one of the most successful bands in Dutch pop history....
(1948- ) - 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- )
External links
Profile at the Digital library for Dutch literatureDigital library for Dutch literature
The Digital Library for Dutch Literature is a website about Dutch language and Dutch literature. The website contains thousands of literary texts, secondary literature and additional information, like biographies, portrayals etcetera, and hyperlinks...
Profile at the Institute of Netherlands History (ING).