Karel van de Woestijne
Woestijne, Karel van de
Born Mar. 10, 1878, in Ghent; died Aug. 23, 1929, in Zwijnaarde. Belgian poet who wrote in Flemish.
Van de Woestijne was professor of Dutch literature at Ghent. He belonged to the symbolist movement and derived his themes from old legends (Verses, 1905). In Flemish Primitives (1902-03), stylized in imitation of popular literature, he creates an atmosphere of loneliness and expectation of death. His collections of verses The Paternal Home (1903) and The Golden Shadow (1910), as well as the poetic trilogy Man of Mud (1920), God by the Sea (1926), and The Mountain Lake (1928), represent the symbolized autobiography of a writer of the decadent school.
WORKS
Verzameld werk, vols. 1-8. [Brussels, 1947-50.]REFERENCES
Rutten, M. De lyriek van Karel van de Woestijne. [Liège, 1934.]Rutten, M. Het proza van Karel van de Woestijne. Paris, 1959.
Severen, G. van. Karel van de Woestijne. Brussels, 1944.