Jan Wolkers

He became noted as an author in the 1960s mainly for his graphic descriptions of sexual acts, which were often subject of controversy. His 1969 novel Turks Fruit was translated into ten languages and published in English as Turkish Delight. It was also made into a highly successful movie, the Paul Verhoeven-directed Turks Fruit (1972) which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and in 1999 won the award for Best Dutch Film of the Century. Wolkers declined several literary awards. He died on 19 October 2007, aged 81, at his Texel home and was cremated in Amsterdam at De Nieuwe Ooster cemetery. A number of his outdoor sculptures in the Netherlands have been subject to vandalism, presumably due to his use of glass as a construction material. Some examples are the Auschwitz monument in Amsterdam and the monument on the dike at Ceres on Texel. In reaction to the destruction of the monument in 2003, Wolkers announced that he would use less glass and more steel for such monuments in future. Thijsse monument on Texel does contain more steel, but glass is still a substantial part of the artwork. Since 2019, the private and literary archive of Jan Wolkers has been available at Leiden University Library.

Turks Fruit (1973), directed by Paul Verhoeven, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Kort Amerikaans (1979), directed by Guido Pieters Brandende Liefde (1983), directed by Ate de Jong En Ros Av Kött (1985), directed by Jon Lindström, Swedish television film based on Een roos van vlees Terug naar Oegstgeest (1987), directed by Theo van Gogh Summer Heat (2008), directed by Monique van de Ven