Teirlinck, Herman

Born Feb. 24, 1879, at Molenbeek-St.-Jean, in Brussels; died Feb. 4, 1967, in Beersel, near Brussels. Belgian writer writing in Flemish.

Teirlinck contributed to the journal Van Nu en Straks (Today and Tomorrow), which during the 1890’s advocated an innovative and original Flemish literature. In 1900 he published the collection Poetry. Teirlinck wrote collections of impressionist short stories, including The Quagmire (1905) and Sun (1906). His novel Mr. Serjanszoon (1908) was notable for its caustic irony and its epicureanism. Teirlinck depicted the life of a large city in his novel The Ivory Monkey (1909). The novel in letters Clay Towers (1918; published 1928) was written in collaboration with the symbolist poet K. van de Woestijne and is permeated with psychological insights.

Teirlinck’s works combined realism with decadence and modernism. A formalist approach was particularly evident in his expressionist play Slow-motion Film (1922). The novels Maria Speermalie (1940) and The Battle With an Angel (1952) reflected vitalist concepts. Teirlinck also wrote the autobiographical novel The Man in the Mirror (1955).