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J. Bernlef at his home in Amsterdam (Waldeck Pyrmontlaan, 20). photo by Michiel Hendryckx –

Top 10 Interesting Facts about J. Bernlef

Literary means concerned with or connected with the writing, study, or appreciation of literature.

Literary artists have proven time and again their prowess in different written forms of art concerning having the characteristics of humane learning or literature. One of such scholars is Hendrik Jan Marsman.

Hendrik Jan Marsman, best known by his pen name J. Bernlef was born on January 14, 1937, in Sint Pancreas. He was a Dutch author, poet, novelist, and translator. 

J. Bernlef made his mark in just about every literary genre under the sun. In the space of forty years, J. Bernlef has built up an impressive oeuvre. 

Loss of perceptive powers is an important theme in Bernlef’s work. His acute observations and the precise, matter-of-fact style with which he illustrates his characters’ often unusual perspectives of the world are crucial to this theme

He died on October 29, 2012, at just 75 years old at his home in Amsterdam after a short illness. His nickname was Marsman Henk Jan. Here are the top 10 interesting facts about him. 

1. He adopted the name of an 8th-century poet as his pen name

J. Bernlet, writer, headline February 13, 1979 photo by Rob Bogaerts / Anefo –

Marsman was born in Sint Pancras on January 14, 1937. He worked in a range of genres under several aliases, including Ronnie Appelman, J. Grauw, Cas den Haan, and S. Cas de Vries and den Haan.

This Marsman opted to use the name of a blind Frisian poet named Bernlef from the eighth century as his primary pen name because Hendrik Marsman, a well-known Dutch poet, had already passed away in 1940.

2. He spent some time in Sweden

The year 1958 marked a turning point in Bernlef’s life. He spent some time in Sweden during that year, which later allowed him to translate Swedish authors.

Bernlef also co-edited the English-language A pulp magazine for the dead generation with Beat poet Gregory Corso, which was published in Paris by Piero Heliczer’s The Dead Language Press.

Together with two other poets, K. Schippers and G. Brands, he went on to visit the Dada exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum and inspired by that launched with them the seminal magazine Barbarber (1958-71).

3. His first poetry collection was “Kokkels “

His first poetry collection was “Kokkels “. In 1960 his first poetry collection, Kokkels (Cockles) was awarded the Reina Prinsen Geerligs-prijs.

4. He co-founded the magazine Barbarber in 1958

K. Scippers at the Amsterdam Municipal Poetry Awards, 8 December 1967 photo by Jack de Nijs –

With K. Schippers and G. Brands, he started the magazine Barbarber in 1958, in which he experimented with Dadaist and surrealist-inspired texts: ready-mades, language taken from all areas of real life.

Originally came out in an edition of 100 copies and was filled with Neo-Dadaist gestures, ready-mades and both verbal and pictorial collages. One issue was composed entirely of wallpaper samples.

In the 1970s his work lost much of its conceptual and ironic character, becoming more personal and poetic in spirit.

Bernlef was not a lyricist, his language was clear rather than passionate; it was no accident that he felt attracted to the land and the literature of the European far north.

5. He was honoured with the prestigious P.C. Hooft poetry prize

Bernlef established himself in almost every literary subgenre. In 1960, he released his debut book of poetry, Kokkels (Cockles), and twenty books eventually received the prestigious P.C.

Hooft poetry prize. The P.C. Hooft Award is a Dutch language literary lifetime achievement award named after 17th Century Dutch poet and playwright Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft.

6. He married Eva Hoornik, daughter of the poet Ed. Hoornik

Book ball 68 in the Stedelijk Museum. Writer Ed Hoornik with Mies Bouhuys on the dance floor. photo by Koch, Eric –

In 1960, he married Eva Hoornik, daughter of the poet Ed. Hoornik, by whom he eventually had two children. At the same time, his friend Schippers married her twin sister Erica.

7. He is widely known for his book, Hersenschimmen

Bernlef performing in a train as part of the Boekenweekgift in 2008 photo by Dh3201 –

In 1984, he started writing novels and shot to fame with his bestseller Hersenschimmen (also known as Out of Mind). Later, Bernlef would explore these issues in greater depth in his novels.

His 1984 novel Hersenschimmen was a huge success. Widely translated, it was filmed in 1987, and a stage adaptation was made in 2006.

Its English translation, “Out of Mind,” paints a realistic picture of dementia from the perspective of the person experiencing it.

In the 1993 film Eclips, the process of the accident victim’s mind gradually returning to normality is depicted in reverse.

8. His major work centre’s on the mental perception of reality and its expression

His major work centre’s on the mental perception of reality and its expression. Bernlef’s poems express the wonder of an outsider, a passerby.

He looked for that which is unfinished and uncertain, for possibilities rather than facts, for temporariness rather than eternity. In his story collection Cellojaren (1996) he quoted a painter as saying: ‘It is the eye which sets the measure, the wandering gaze which catches now this, then that.

You may be watching the same thing, but never in the same manner.’ It is a statement which seems to catch the essence of his poetry: the observations of a wandering eye.

As a fervent observer, Bernlef’s poems are replete with vivid details and sights from everyday life, although he frequently uses terms like “vanish,” “forget,” and “absence.” Both human perception and memory are subpar.

The poet who, in disinterested amazement, strives to give shape to what transpires in front of his eyes will always vacillate between what is and what is not. He can no longer see what is, and he can’t yet perceive what isn’t.

9.  He won numerous literary awards

He received many literary honours, including the Constantijn Huygens Prize in 1984 and the P. C. Hooft Award in 1994, both of which were for his work as a whole.

The Constantijn Huygens Prize is a Dutch literary award. Since 1947, it has been awarded each year for an author’s complete works by the Jan Campert Foundation, a foundation named in honour of the Dutch writer Jan Campert who died while helping Jews during World War II.

The award is named after Constantijn Huygens, a 17th-century Dutch poet, diplomat, scholar and composer.

10. He was hailed as one of the greats of Dutch literature

After a brief illness, Bernlef passed away on October 29, 2012, at the age of 75, at his Amsterdam home.

Bernlef was praised for being “one of the greats of Dutch literature,” and Sara Whyatt, the deputy director of PEN International, noted that “Henk was not only a distinguished writer himself but also a great defender of other writers.”