Biography
Frits Grönloh started writing as Nescio, as he wanted to keep his professional career and his writing career separate. All his stories bear witness to the conflict between his career and his ideals, as formed by the turn of the century utopian socialim. In 1900 he had started a commune inspired by Frederik van Eeden's Walden commune; the commune was wound up in 1903. He still kept his ideals but was no longer personally involved.
Instead he turned to writing, as well as long solitary walks in the countryside around Amsterdam, his home town. Not very prolific, much of his writing remained unpublished until after his death and the stories he did publish went out of print quickly. His decision to use a pseudonym does not help with this: it is only in 1932 that Nescio reveals his true name. This leads to a reprint of De uitvreter/Titaantjes/Dichtertje in 1933, as well as some critical attention.
It is only after World war 2 that he becomes reasonably well known, though his oeuvre is still small, roughly 160 pages. However growing critical appreciation leads to him receiving the Marianne Phillips award in 1954, as well as the publication of a new collection of stories just before his death in 1961.
His name lives on in the form of the Nesciobrug which enables cyclists and pedestrians to go from Diemen to IJburg over the Amsterdam-Rijn kanaal.
Works by Nescio
Nescio was not a prolific writer and it did not help that none of his stories had any success at publication. His reputation as an important Dutch writer therefore rests solely on three short stories, De uitvreter (1911), Titaantjes (1915) and Dichtertje (1918).De uitvreter
De uitvreter (loafer or sponger) was first published in the Dutch literary magazine De Gids. The central character is Japi, who wants to be the perfect bohemian, not wanting to do anything with his life but just sit and look at the sea at IJmuiden. He is a friend of Koekebakker, the narrator, who thinks Japi is, "apart from the man who thought the Sarphatistraat in Amsterdam was the most beautiful place in Europe, the strangest person he had known". He is also friends with an unsuccessful painter, Bavink, who like Koekebakker would return in Titaantjes. Japi sponges off both Koekebakker and Bavink, as well as other friends, but they do not mind greatly, as he is such an innocent.The theme of the story is how ideals conflict with the demands of society, which Japi resolves by quietly committing suicide at the end of the book, when it is no longer possible for him to keep pursuing his ideal of doing absolutely nothing. Bavink as an unsuccessful painter is the best at not conforming, while the narrator is slowly seduced by material comforts.
Titaantjes
Titaantjes (little titans) was first published in Groot-Nederland. It is a semi-sequel to De uitvreter and again features Koekebakker as narrator, reminiscing about his time with Bavink, and the newly introduced characters of Hoyer, Bekker, and Kees, when he still had ideals. The opening sentence is "Boys we were -- but nice boys". The story then leaps ahead several years. Koekebakker is now a successful journalist, while each of the others have failed their ideals in one way or another. Hoyer has given up on changing the world, and works painting portraits. Kees has a blue collar job. Bekker is a mid-range official in the SDAP. The most ardent adherent to their youthful ideals, Bavink, went mad after creating the masterpiece he had strived after for so long.Dichtertje
Dichtertje (little poet) was published in one volume with De uitvreter and Titaantjes in a printrun of 500 copies by the art dealer J.H. de Bois. It is the story of an idealistic poet, which unlike the other two stories, is told by Nescio himself. It is slightly daring in its frank discussion of sexual mores and adultery for the time in which it was written, as well as having the "God of the Netherlands" on stage.The theme of the story is again the conflict between idealistic youth and bourgeois adulthood, with the main character both mourning the loss of his ideals and accepting in his fate as a bourgeois family man.
Other works
- Mene Tekel (1946, often published together with De uitvreter/Titaantjes/Dichtertje).
- Boven het Dal en andere verhalen (Above the Valley and other stories, 1961, a selection of unpublished work, which appeared shortly before his death)
- De X Geboden (The X Commandments, 1971, posthumously published)
- Natuurdagboek (Nature dairy,1996, posthumously published)
- Nescio, Brieven uit Veere, 2010
External links
- Nescio: 'Schrijft U over mij maar niks' Very good and elaborate site about the life and works of Nescio. (Dutch) with some English framents.
- Een appel valt in de stilte. Over het schrijverschap van Nescio; Voordracht bij Lieneke Frerichs
- Met de pleziertrein naar de Duivelsberg: Nescio en Nijmegen;Voordracht bij Lieneke Frerichs
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