Nescio rediscovered

In the 60's I read with enormous pleasure the novella 'The uitvreter' (The Sponger)  partly perhaps because I was also young and could not work out why people make themselves so busy and we had so many better ideas. But also I grew up opposite Veere, where many parts of the story unfolds. I have not taken many Dutch books with me on my further journey through life, but the 'Uitvreter' I have always kept and read it quit often. When I miss Holland? It is such a typical Dutch book. Language is simple, straight, open and without pretensions. However it is also deep!

A few month ago I discovered his Collected Works, but also saw his 'Natuurdagboek' (Nature Dairy). It seemed to me to be a bit boring to read somebody else's dairy. However when I read his Collected Works, I realised that many descriptions of the landscape are very significant. It became clear that the way Grönloh saw things is not the way we normally look. I will come back to that later.

During my period in Holland a few weeks ago (October 2010) I ordered the 'Natuurdagboek' (Nature Dairy) and so that I could read it when I was in Holland.

First I stayed with some friends in Kamperland and on a beautiful Sunday we cycled to Veere. The weekend after I stayed with a friend in Amsterdam and again, on a beautiful Sunday we cycled for 5 hours (!) around the area where Grönloh cycled or walked often.

Here are some pieces about and from Grönloh.

"Veel fietsen. Veel stilstaan. Veel praten. Veel om ons heen kijken. Hij keek, hij kon ontzaggelijk goed zien, observeren, hij zag de dingen zoals een schilder zou ik zeggen, en mischien nog dieper als een schilder" volgens Kees Zwolsman (in 'Over Nescio' ed; Lieneke Frerichs)

Translated; "Much cycling, much standing still, much talking, especially much looking around. He looked, he could see an enormous lot, watching, he could see things as a painter I would say, and perhaps even deeper as a painter " according to Kees Zwolsman (painter)

Gaasp

"Ik ben nu 65 jaar. En een half. Ook de weinige jaren die mij wellicht nog resten hoop ik door te brengen in stil verkeer met onzen Lieven Heer en zijn velden en boomen en waters zonder bemiddeling van priesters en hoogepriesters" (Belijdenis; 22/12/1947)

Translated; "I am now 65 years old. And a half. Even the few years which will be left to me I hope to pass in quiet company of our Dear Lord and his fields and trees and waters without a go-between of priests and high priests." (Confessions; 22/12/1947)

Veere seen from Kamperland; Left the Hospital (Large Dome)

In zijn Natuurdagboek noteerde hij op 18 juli 1951: "Bus naar Veere en meteen over naar Kamperland. Os bleef in den toren achter om ons na te wuiven. Donker en winderig. Gezicht op Veere. Met hetzelfde bootje terug omtrent 3 uur in Veere terug. Met Louis op het Hospitaal (Groote Toren) geklommen. Beperkt zicht: Schouwen nauwelijks, Zierikzeee twijfelachtig, Goes niet, Vlissingen nauwelijks, Westerschelde niet.
Maar het Veersche Gat heel blank en Zandkreek met hoog water en een prachtige bocht. Op de balk gezeten met opgetrokken knieën en tegen de balk als in 1908 zoo te zeggen haast bij God (tusschen half 5 en kwart voor 5). Veere vol touringcargedoe.’ 

Translated; In his Nature Dairy he wrote on 18 july 1951; "Coach to Veere and then straight over to Kamperland. Os stayed behind in the tower to waive us goodbye. Dark and windy. View on Veere. With the same boat back arrived back in Veere at around 3 o'clock. With Louis climbed on top of the Hospital (Great Tower). Limited view; Schouwen barely, Zieirikzee doubtful, Goes not, Vlissingen barely, Westerschelde not.
But Veersche Gat (waters) totally blank and Zandkreek with high water and a beautiful bend. Sat on the beam with lifted knees and against the beam as in 1908, so to say nearly by God (between 4.30 and 4.45). Veere full of touring car happenings."

Veere, Campveersche toren

"Twee dagen sjouwden Bavink en Japi in Veere rond en toen jijden en jouwden ze elkaar al. Urenlang zaten ze samen op 't dak van 't Hospitaal en keken over Walcheren, over de Kreek en 't Veergat en den ingang van de Oosterschelde en de duinen van Schouwen. En daar had je de dikke Jan ook weer, den toren van Zierikzee, nu in het Noorden. En daar had je Goes en Lange Jan, den toren van Middelburg, de spil van Walcheren, het hart dier wereld.
En 't tij kwam in en 't tij ging uit: 't water rees en viel..... "( De Uitvreter 1911)

Translated; "For two days Baving and Japi trampled around Veere and they jelled and shouted at each other. For hours they sat together on the roof of the Hospital and looked over Walcheren, over the Kreek and Veergat and at the entry of the Oosterschelde and the dunes of Schouwen. There you had again the 'Dikke Jan', the tower of Zierikzee, now in the north. And there you had Goes and Lange Jan, the tower of Middelburg, the centre of Walcheren, the heart of that world.
And the tide came in and the tide went; waters rose and fell...." (The Sponger 1911)

Here it becomes clear that the many descriptions in his novellas were from his own experiences.

Polder south of Amsterdam

"Een weidsch gezicht, weidsch genoeg vooor mij, mijn hart zwelt en het landschap zwelt mee, de lucht is zoo hoog en 't is of ik daar zoo zou kunnen leven, zonder vriend, zonder bakker, zonder melkboer, zonder kruidenier, zonder vuilnisvat, zonder kleren, zonder sigaren desnoods en zonder pijpje tabak en dat zegt heel wat." Insula Dei 1942 (in 'Boven het Dal')

Translated; "A wide view, wide enough for me, my heart swells and the landscape swells with (me), the sky is so high  and it is as if I can live there (in the landscape) without friend,without baker,without milkman, without grocery man, without dustbin, without clothes, without cigars if necessary and even without smoking a pipe and that says a lot." (Insula Dei 1942)

'Twee maanden na mijn terugkomst kwam-i me heel kalm vertellen, dat-i zijn gezicht op Rhenen in stukken had gesneden. Enzo was 't. De rivier, den berg, den Cuneratoren, de bloeiende appelboomen, de roode daken van Rhenen, de kastanjes met hun witte en roode bloemen, de bruine beuken en 't molentje ergens in de hoogte, 64 gelijke, rechthoekige brokken van 15 bij 12 1/2 centimeter hatti er van gesneden, met een bot knipmes. Een heel werk was 't geweest. 't Ding had hem geërgerd. 't Was niks, totaal niks, vodden. Hij wou van mij weten, waarom iemand schilderde. Hij begreep zelf niets meer. Hij stak z'n arm uit en wees in de ruimte. Dáár waren de dingen. Hij sloeg met z'n vuist tegen z'n voorhoofd. En daar waren ze. Er uit wilden ze, maar ze deden 't niet. Stapel gek werd je ervan."(Titaantjes 1915)

Translated; "Two months after my return, he came to tell me calmly that he had cut his view on Rhenen in pieces. And so it was. The river, the mountain, the Cunera tower, the flowering apple trees, the red roofs of Rhenen, the chestnuts with their white and red flowers, the brown beeches and the small mill somewhere high-up, 64 equally, rectangular pieces of 15 by 12 1/2 centimeters he made of it, with a blunt boneknife. It had been a lot of work. The thing had infuriated him. It was nothing, totally nothing, rubbish. He wanted to know of me why somebody painted. He himself didn't understand it anymore. He lifted his arm and pointed out into space. There were the things. With his fist he hit his forehead. And there they were. They wanted to come out, but they didn't. Crazy you became of it." (Titaantjes 1915)

Cloud and light show with cows and all

"Hoe kan iemand 'diepzinnig' willen zijn, als zulke werelden zoo maar je ogen binnenkomen, met koeien en al." ( Natuurdagboek 10/11/1953)

Translated "How can one want to be 'profound' when such worlds enters you eyes just like that, with cows and all" (Nature Dairy 10/11/1953)

"En heb je ooit twee maal hetzelfde gezien? Nooit."

Translated; Have you ever seen the same twice? Never"

"God leeft in mijn hoofd. Zijn velden zijn er onmetelijk, zijn tuinen staan er vol schoone bloemen, die niet sterven, en statige vrouwen wandelen er naakt, vele duizenden. En de zon gaat er op en onder en schijnt laag en hoog en weer laag en 't eindeloze gebied is eindeloos 't zelfde en geen oogenblik gelijk. En breede rivieren stroomen er door met vele bochten en de zon schijnt er in en ze voeren 't licht naar de zee.
En aan de rivieren mijner gedachte zit ik stilletjes en genoeglijk en rook een steenen pijpje en voel de zon op mijn lijf schijnen en zie 't water stroomen, voortdurend stroomen naar 't onbekende. En 't onbekende deert mij niet. En ik knik maar eens tegen de schoone vrouwen, die de bloemen plukken in mijn tuinen en hoor den wind ruisschen door de hooge dennen, door de wouden der zekerheid, dat dit alles bestaat, omdat ik 't zoo verkies te denken.
En ik ben dankbaar dat dit mij gegeven is. En in ootmoed pijp ik nog eens aan en voel mij God, de oneindigheid zelf."(Titaantjes 1915)

Translated "God lives in my head. His fields are unmeasurable, his gardens are full of flowers, which don't die, and stately women walk naked, many thousands. And the sun rises and sets and shines low and high and then again low and the endless fields is eternally the same and no moments are the same.
And wide rivers stream through with many bends and the sun shines in them and they transport he light to the sea.
And on the rivers of my thought I sit quietly and pleasantly and smoke a little pipe and feel the sun shine on my body and see the waters flow, continually flowing to the unkown. And the unknown doesn't bother me. And sometimes I salute the beautiful women, who pick the flowers in my gardens and hear the wind murmuring  through the high pine trees, the forests of certainty, that this all exists, because I choose to think so.
And I am happy that this is given to me. In humility I have another puff of my pipe and feel my God, the eternity self" (Titaantjes 1915)

"Weer eens het gevoel gehad dat Amsterdam van mij was en dat ik 't zelf had gemaakt (wat ook waar is want niemand ziet 't zoo)" (Natuurdagboek 10 juli 1954)

 Translated;"Yet again had the feeling that Amsterdam belongs to me and that I had created it myself (What is also true as nobody sees it so)" (Nature Dairy 10/7/1954)

Nescio (J.H. F. Grönloh) 1882-1961

"Nescio", Latin for "I don't know", was the pseudonym of the Dutch writer Jan Hendrik Frederik Grönloh, born June 22, 1882 in Amsterdam and died July 25, 1961 in Hilversum, both in the Nederlands.  Grönloh was a businessman by profession; as Nescio he is mainly remembered for the three novellas; De uitvreter (The Moocher), Titaantjes (Little Titans) and Dichtertje (Little Poet). His reputation as an important Dutch writer was only established after his death.

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

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1- day workshops 2010

Excursion 27th of March 2010


We went with a small group to the village of Aiguillanes, just south of the Plantaurel, a very long ridge (80 km?) which is a significant boundary as you have to go through it to reach the 'high mountain' culture.  From the vilage we walked towards the ridge and followed the GR7 eastwards (badly signposted), which runs half way between the ridge with the scrub land and the pastures.
We looked at the village and shared with each other what we saw and soon we realized that we all saw different elements, but together we could form a more coherent picture.
Further on we stopped for coffee and introduced a description of how plants grow (metamorphoses) and then each observed and drew a plant (dandelions and buttercups). We were surprised how many new things we discovered.
Then we continued on the path and we had to walk through dry prickly scrub land, after all it was the southern slop of a mountain ridge!

Then we stopped for lunch and took the opportunity to draw the landscape, but as it was so vast we had to limit ourselves to a certain section. Of course there were as always people who took another section! Anyway after a fairly long session we shared our experiences (and they were many) and what most impressed us, was how the colours change when the clouds move in front of the sun.

Then we walked down into the valley and were very relieved that we could walk through open fields on via a small road  back through valley towards where we have left our cars.
We are looking forwards to the next session.

 

Excursion 25th of April 2010

This time we went to Puivert, towards the southern side of the valley, before it goes over onto the high mountains. So we walked at the bottom of a northern slope and partly followed the Cathar route from out of the Plateau de Sault direction Puivert.

Puivert Castle

This time we set out to look at the structure of fields, streams, roads and trees and bushes and in how far men had structured these and so we didn't look too much how things looked in relation to colours, bright and dark surfaces like last time, but more at structures and forms in the landscape.
Then we shared these observations and experiences before lunch and after lunch we draw/paint a scenery also with the aim to accentuate structures, forms and roads in the landscape.
Soon we noticed many interesting features, so that in our conversation after the drawing session, we even used the word 'our tree', which was a fairly large tree, full in blossom in the middle of a green field and the cows had shaped the tree at the bottom.

View to the area where we were walking and drawing

What most impressed us was the many coloured trees at the bottom of the mountain, with its many shapes of grey, white and some fresh green in between. Definitely early spring. But this was not our task, but still it was a strong impression we all shared.
Two of us drew or painted the view to the west and one of us towards Puivert castle.
After lunch we thought to walk back and planned to focus now on the branches of trees, which were now in various stages of budding. But walking along a small hamlet we went in the village and met an old  farmer, who very friendly showed us his 6 cows and we helped him to bring them out into the field and later his few sheep and he showed us his garden. He had lived there all his life. After lunch I had also drawn the village and was now pleased to experience what actually lives and happens in this village.

The village with farmer

Excursion 26th of September 2010

This time we went to Plateau du Sault and as it was rather cold and raining, we drew the landscape from out of the minibus and then each wrote notes about the 4 dimensions of 'Legible Landscape' (vertical, horizontal, seasonal and historical dimensions of landscape) and afterwards we shared our experiences. Then we went for a walk and looked in more detail at the many different aspect and we were surprised how many flowers were still around.

Plateau du Sault near Rodome

Then after lunch, during which we watched the snow on the Madres, an enormous large mountain (around 2600m?)  we went into Rodome and after walking around,  we all drew different aspects of the village. Amanda from the top

Aunat; Amenda's perspective

Detail

and Andie from the bottom. Again it was altogether a rich experience, because by sharing experiences and observations, we opened our eyes to aspects which we normally would perhaps have overlooked.

Aunat; Our perspective

Amanda was so absorbed in her painting and observing, that she totally forgot the time.
Never mind.

Walk in the Razes area

A few weeks ago we went for a fairly long walk in the Razes area which lies south of Castlenaudery.
We drives many times through it on the way tho Carcassonne, but this time we want to explore it.
It had something very attractive, it's consist mainly of 'rounded' hills, fairly open countryside and very open views.

Pyrenees in background

Parked the car in a village on top of one of the 'rounded' hills we walked for a fairly long time until we came to a nice spot where from we could see very characteristic features of the landscape.

Where we sat to do our drawing

We sat fairly high up and looked down a valley and along the edges, where it did get steep,  we see strips of woodland, but then higher up, where it became less steep, there were the 'open' fields.
The bottom fields were mainly used for grass and if very open for mais, but the top fields used for wheat, barley and alfalfa. It is mainly a limestone area, so it can become dry, also we are in the South of France don't forget.

 

Also you can see that as we look south, the north-facing slopes are woodland,  because it is too steep and/or too less sun and facing the cold northern winds.

The trees were mainly just grey or dark silhouettes, apart from some few beeches with still their withered leaves on 

When we went further on our walk and saw an unusual shaped building with in the background one of those typical hill-fort villages of the area.

Then we walked further and as we walked fairly high up, we had fantastic views on the mountains with the different layers of landscape in front of it.

We walked for a short time on a plateau, an ideal place for sheep.

During such a walk there are so many observations and thought that one can't do justice in explaining it in a short post with only a few photos, but it gives you a glimpse.