Martinus Nijhoff

Nijhoff, Martinus 

Born Apr. 20, 1894, in The Hague; died there Jan. 26, 1953. Dutch writer.

Nijhoff graduated from the University of Utrecht. In 1916 he published his first poetry collection, The Wanderer, and in 1921 he joined a group of writers affiliated with the magazine De Stem. During the fascist occupation of the Netherlands from 1940 to 1945, Nijhoff took part in the resistance movement and wrote patriotic verse. He is noted for his narrative poem Pierrot on the Lamppost (1919), his verse collections Forms (1924) and New Poems (1934), and his narrative poem The Hour You (1937). His plays include Star of Bethlehem (1941), Day of the Lord (1950), and Garden of the Savior (1950). Nijhoff’s literary criticism was collected in Reflections on Thursday (1931).

WORKS

Verzameld werk, vols. 1–3. The Hague-Amsterdam, 1954–61.

REFERENCES

In Memoriam M. Nijhoff. Utrecht, 1953.