Hendrik Marsman

Hendrik Marsman (born Sept. 30, 1899, Zeist, near Utrecht, Neth.—died June 21, 1940, at sea in the English Channel) was one of the outstanding Dutch poets and critics active between World War I and World War II.

Marsman studied law and practiced in Utrecht, but after 1933 he travelled in Europe and devoted himself to literature. Under the influence of the German Expressionists, Marsman made his literary debut about 1920 with rhythmic free verse, which attracted notice for its aggressive independence. The collection Verzen (1923; “Verses”) expresses an antihumanist, anti-intellectual rebelliousness, which the poet called “vitalism.” As editor of the periodical De Vrije bladen (“The Free Press”), he became in 1925 the foremost critic of the younger generation. His next collection of verse appeared in 1927 with the English title Paradise Regained and was greeted as a major artistic achievement. Another cycle, Porta Nigra, dominated by the idea of death, appeared in 1934. His last book of verse, Tempel en kruis (1940; “Temple and Cross”), an autobiographical account of the poet’s development, reaffirms humanistic ideals. Marsman was drowned during World War II when his ship was torpedoed in the English Channel.