Paul van Ostaijen (1896 - 1928)
Related: Belgium - Flanders - poetry
Boem Paukenslag (1921) - Paul Van Ostaijen
Biography
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 this, he had to flee to Berlin after World War I. 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 Ardennes. --http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul Van Ostaijen [Mar 2006]
your Amazon recommendations