Gerrit Kouwenaar

The recorded working language is Dutch. The field of work recorded is literature and opinion journalism. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are short novel. Works named in the authority record are De tijd staat open. Work by Gerrit Kouwenaar is recorded in the collections of CODA Museum and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Distinctions recorded are Poetry Prize of the Municipality of Amsterdam, Jan Campert Prize for poetry, Henriëtte Roland Holst Award and Martinus Nijhoff Translation Prize.

• Name — Gerrit Kouwenaar • Born — 9 August 1923 • Birthplace — Amsterdam, Netherlands • Died — 4 September 2014 • Place of death — Amsterdam, Netherlands • Occupation — Novelist • Years Active — 1941–2008

Kouwenaar was born in Amsterdam, North Holland. In the early 1940s, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, he wrote various clandestine publications (the first in 1941), and worked for the illegal newspaper Parade der Profeten. He was arrested for this and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. His first collection of poetry appeared in 1949, but he gained wider attention as a member of the Dutch poetry group known as the Vijftigers - the '50s poets'. Kouwenaar worked for magazines and newspapers such as Vrij Nederland, De Waarheid, and Het Vrije Volk. Kouwenaar was awarded the Martinus Nijhoff Prize in 1967 for his translation work. In 1970, he was given the P. C. Hooft Award. Kouwenaar later won the 1989 Dutch Literature Prize. In 2009, the Society of Dutch Literature named Kouwenaar the recipient of its annual honor. His last published work was released on 9 August 2008, Kouwenaar's eighty-fifth birthday. Gerrit Kouwenaar's older brother was the painter and poet David Kouwenaar (1921–2011). Kouwenaar died on 4 September 2014 in Amsterdam, aged 91.

Gerrit Kouwenaar is recorded as having received Poetry Prize of the Municipality of Amsterdam, Jan Campert Prize for poetry and Henriëtte Roland Holst Award.