Guest of the ilb 2007
Guus Kuijer, the creator of
literary figures like »Madelief« and »Polleke«, numbers among the
Netherlands' most outstanding children’s book authors. He was born in
Amsterdam in 1942 and worked as a teacher before devoting himself full
time to writing. In more than thirty novels, short stories, plays and
screenplays he has set the standards for a literature that takes
children seriously as readers. Having initially written for adults,
Kuijer then published »Met de poppen gooien« (t: Bowling with the
dolls) in 1975, his first »Madelief« children’s book. With the
translation of the fourth volume, »Erzähl mir von Oma« (t: Tell me
about grandma; OT: »Krassen in het tafelblad«, 1978), the beloved
character of the little girl Madelief conquered the German children’s
book market in 1981.
With an unmistakable blend of
light humor and warmhearted irreverence, Guus Kuijer opens for the
reader »a whole treasure chest of things that make the world go round«
(»Süddeutsche Zeitung«). He brilliantly situates his novels between
carefree episodes from the everyday and the tragedy of life, banishing
horror with a smile. Crystal clear and profound, Kuijer depicts the
evolution of his young protagonists in life while casting an amusing
glance at the world of adults.
His best-known works are the
award-winning »Polleke« novels. »Voor altijd samen, amen« (1999; t: We
are forever together, amen) was the prelude to the five-part series.
With a light touch and disarming humour, Kuijer portrays an adolescent
girl caught between a chaotic patchwork family and her multicultural
everyday life at school. Full of sympathy, he lets the eleven year-old
Polleke cheekily display her turbulent experiences, which include her
lovingly complicated relationship with her father Spiek who knocks
about life as a drug dealer and disappoints her over and over again.
With charming confidence Polleke approaches all sorts of emotional
confusion and discovers how love and tenderness are often concealed
behind anger and aggression. Kuijer’s »splendid figure of
identification« – as the journal »Eselsohr« wrote – demonstrates to
readers that children have their own opinions and can make their own
decisions. »Voor altijd samen, amen« was awarded the German Youth
Literature Prize in 2002.
With »Het boek van alle dingen«
(2004; Eng. »The Book of Everything«, 2006), which was awarded the Lynx
of the Year 2006, Guus Kuijer presents a challenging new novel for
children: the nine year-old Thomas grows up in 1950s Amsterdam, the son
of a violent father who is a religious bigot who oppresses the family.
Upon meeting their neighbour, Frau Amersfoort, Thomas enters a new
world of books and music, and slowly takes his first steps out of a
grim, grey world. »To pack so much wisdom about love and faith, freedom
and happiness into quotidian scenes and dialogue that also sometimes
turns somersaults – that sums up Guus Kuijer’s great art«, deemed the
»Neue Zürcher Zeitung«.
Guus Kuijer, whose literary
work was awarded the Netherlands’ national prize for children’s and
young adults’ literature (1979) only four years after the publication
of his first children’s book, has received many international
distinctions and was twice nominated for the ALMA Astrid Lindgren
Memorial Award.
© international literature festival berlin
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