Paul van Ostaijen

Paul van Ostaijen (Antwerp, February 22 1896 - Miavoye-Anthée, March 18 1928) was a Flemish poet and writer.

His nickname was Mister 1830, because of his habit of walking along the streets of Antwerp clothed as a dandy from that year.

His poetry shows influences by Modernism, Expressionism, Dadaism and early Surrealism, but Van Ostaijen's style is very much his own.

Van Ostaijen was an active flamingant, a supporter of Flemish independence. Because of his involvement with Flemish activism during World War I, he had to flee to Berlin after the war. In Berlin, one of the centers of Dadaism and Expressionism, he met many other artists. He also went through a severe mental crisis.

After he returned to Belgium, Van Ostaijen opened an art gallery in Brussels. He died of tuberculosis in 1928 in a sanatorium in the Wallonian Ardennes.



Poetry

 * Music hall (1916)
 * Het sienjaal (The signal, 1918)
 * Bezette stad (Occupied city, 1921)
 * Feesten van Angst en Pijn (Feasts of Fear and Pain, written 1921, published posthumously)
 * Nagelaten gedichten (Posthumous poems, published posthumously in 1928)

From the Posthumous Poems:

Zelfmoord des Zeemans

De zeeman

hij hoort de stem der Loreley

hij ziet op zijn horloge

en springt het water in

[The Sailor's Suicide

The sailor

he hears the call of the Loreley

he looks at his watch

and jumps into the water]

Other publications

 * De trust der vaderlandsliefde (The trust of patriotism, 1925, grotesques)
 * Gebruiksaanwijzing der lyriek (Manual of lyrics, 1926, lecture)
 * Het bordeel van Ika Loch (Ika Loch's brothel, 1926, grotesques)
 * De bende van de stronk (The stump gang, 1932, grotesques)

External links (all in Dutch)

 * Nagelaten gedichten
 * Short biography
 * Dandy en dichter

Paul van Ostaijen Paul Van Ostaijen Paul van Ostaijen Остайен, Пол ван