Herman Teirlinck - Literary Career

Literary Career

In the mean time he continued with his writing, such as with Johan Doxa and De lemen torens in 1917 and Nieuwe Uilenspiegel in 1922. From 1910 through 1936 he was a teacher of Dutch at to the Stedelijke Jongensnormaalschool (E: Urban boy teacher school) in Brussels. From 1925 through 1938, he taught Dutch at the Akademie voor Schone Kunsten (E:Academy for Fine Arts) in Antwerp and from 1928 up to 1936 at the Stedelijke Meisjesnormaalschool (E: Urban little girl teacher school) in Brussels.

In 1917 he became a member of the Maatschappij der Nederlandse Letterkunde (E: Society for Dutch Literature) in Leiden, and in 1919, he became a member of the Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Taal- en Letterkunde (E:Royal Flemish Academy for Language - and Literature). In 1928, his first wife died. The same year Herman Teirlinck married Johanna Hoofmans from Linkebeek. Five years later, they moved to the house at the Uwenberg 14 in Beersel.

In 1920 He became teacher of Flemish at the Royal Court of Belgium; in 1933 Private Councillor of King Albert I; in 1934 Councillor for Art and Science of King Leopold III and in 1951 Honorary Councillor for Art and Science of King Baudouin I, in Dutch King Boudewijn I.

Herman Teirlinck wrote in a typical Flemish style, and he considered Karel van de Woestijne, to be his most important example. This becomes apparent in his work in t Bedrijf van den kwade in De doolage. He was acquainted with impressionistic painters, who also had a strong influence on his work. His collection of poems Zon (E:sun) is the best example of this influence. Over the years his language became more Dutch and less Flemish.

Theatre interested Herman Teirlinck most. He wrote plays such as De vertraagde film (E: Slowed dwn movie) (1922), Ik dien (E: I serve) (1924) in De man zonder lijf (E: The man without a body) (1925). Other plays are De ekster en de galg (E: The magpie and the gallow) (1937 and Ave (1938) in which he experimented with modern techniques to involve the public more in the action.

In his last literary period, which started with the novel Maria Speermalie in 1940, he approached existentialism. Also the free passionate life of people, with its refined over-civilization and its contradicting extremes, he took into consideration. In 1946, he became co-founder and Director of the Nieuw Vlaams Tijdschrift and he founded the Studio van het Nationaal Toneel in Antwerp, which would later become the famous Studio Herman Teirlinck. He wanted to create a renewal of the education of actors. With the essay Pointering 48 of 1948, he wrote the basic program for the school. The final foundation of the educational principles of the Studio was written down in the Dramatisch Peripatetikon in 1959. In 1951 he created the Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord. In Het gevecht met de engel (E: The fight with the angel), the unavoidability of destiny was emphasized (1952). His last novel Zelfportret of Het galgemaal appeared in 1955, which was an exercise in self-reflection.