Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren for Cees Nooteboom

On 18 November 2009, Cees Nooteboom received the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren (Dutch Literature Prize) from Albert II, King of the Belgians. The prize is administered by the Nederlandse Taalunie and is accompanied by a sum of € 40,000. The jury, headed by Flemish emeritus professor Anne Marie Musschoot, called Nooteboom’s oeuvre profound and philosophical. His work is also praised abroad for these same qualities. Nooteboom has many readers in German-speaking countries in particular. The jury stated that the great strength of Nooteboom’s travel stories, and also his novels, is that they respect history, but are never purely realistic.

The jury for the 2009 prize consisted of Anne Marie Musschoot (chair), emeritus professor of modern Dutch literature, University of Ghent; Marion Bloem, author, director and visual artist; Yra van Dijk, reviewer and tutor of modern Dutch literature, University of Amsterdam; Dirk De Geest, professor of modern Dutch literature, Catholic University of Leuven; Ismène Krishnadath, author and tutor at the Teacher Training Institute in Paramaribo; Herman Pleij, emeritus professor of Historic Dutch Literature, University of Amsterdam; and Mark Schaevers, journalist and author.

Cees Nooteboom is the nineteenth laureate since the prize was established in 1956. The previous winners are: Herman Teirlinck (1956), A. Roland Holst (1959), Stijn Streuvels (1962), J.C. Bloem (1965), Gerard Walschap (1968), Simon Vestdijk (1971), Marnix Gijsen (1974), Willem Frederik Hermans (1977), Maurice Gilliams (1980), Lucebert (1983), Hugo Claus (1986), Gerrit Kouwenaar (1989), Christine D’Haen (1992), Harry Mulisch (1995), Paul de Wispelaere (1998), Gerard Reve (2001), Hella S. Haasse (2004) and Jeroen Brouwers (2007).

The Nederlandse Taalunie awards the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren every three years to an author whose work occupies an important position in literature in the Dutch language. The award is presented alternately by the Belgian and Dutch monarchs.