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Guido Gezelle | |
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 Guido Gezelle | |
| Born | (1830-05-01)1 May 1830 |
| Died | 27 November 1899(1899-11-27) (aged 69) Bruges, Belgium |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, priest, writer |
Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830[1] – 27 November 1899[2]) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium. He is famous for the use of theWest Flemish dialect, but he also wrote in other languages like Dutch, English, French, German, Latin and Greek.
Gezelle was born inBruges in the province ofWest Flanders to Monica Devrieze and Pieter Jan Gezelle, a gardener. The house where he was born is now literary museumGezellehuis.
Gezelle wasordained a priest in 1854, and worked as a teacher at theMinor Seminary, Roeselare. Interested in all things English and became the chaplain to theEnglish Convent, Bruges [nl], where he died.
His works are often inspired by his mystic love towards God and Creation. Later, his poetry was associated with literaryImpressionism, and he is considered a forerunner of that movement.
Gezelle was a proponent of developing theFlemish dialects independently from (now) mainstream Dutch, with its dominantlyHollandic character. The Dutch he used in his poems was heavily influenced by localWest Flemish dialect. Gezelle also was a translator of poetry and prose, notably ofHenry Wadsworth Longfellow'sSong of Hiawatha, published in 1886. Having read the original in Roeselare in 1856 the poem interested him for its portrayal of American Indians and their relation to Christian missionaries.
For his linguistic mastery, Gezelle is considered one of the most important poets of Dutch literature.
The Flemish writerStijn Streuvels (Frank Lateur) was his nephew.
Media related toGuido Gezelle at Wikimedia Commons
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