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Jan Jacob Slauerhoff (1898-1936) in Chinese clothes, shortly after Dec. 1927 photo by Letterkundig Museum –

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about J. Slauerhoff

Poetry is literature that is written in verse and emphasizes the rhythmic use of words to create imagery. Works of poetry are called poems. A person who writes poetry is called a poet.

Poets have the skill of relating to their surroundings to formulate some of the best literature pieces ever written. One such renown poet is J. Slauerhoff.

He is one of the best Dutch poets of the 20th century. He owed the distinctive place he holds in Dutch literature to the deeply personal subjects he carved out in poetry that were also deeply personal.

He is one of the most authoritarian writers because of his themes of wishing for a passionate love for a woman, being hit by the tragedy of loneliness, yearning to be somewhere else or in the past, yearning for the sea, being disenchanted with modern life, and being conscious of degradation.

On the other hand, his dual personality and the rawness and acrimony of his tone make him a true representative of his time.

In the guise of consistently different characters, either historical or fictive, Slauerhoff aligns with the modernist poets.

Jan Jacob Slauerhoff was born on 15 September 1898. He was a Dutch poet and novelist who was published as J. Slauerhoff.

He is considered one of the most important Dutch language writers. Here are the top 10 remarkable facts about him.

1. Slauerhoff studied medicine in Amsterdam

Amsterdam Netherlands photo by Emmanuel DYAN –

Slauerhoff first met Simon Vestdijk, a fellow future poet who, incidentally, was from Harlingen, while both were students at HBS (secondary school) in Leeuwarden.

Slauerhoff and Vestdijk both relocated to Amsterdam in 1916 to pursue medical studies. While at the university, Slauerhoff wrote his first poems. 

2. He edited the Amsterdam student magazine Propria Cures from 1919

Head of title for Propria Cures, Amsterdam student weekly photo by Rijksmuseum –

He edited the Amsterdam student magazine Propria Cures from 1919 to 1920. A Dutch satirical student newspaper called Propria Cures, which translates to “Mind your own business,” is published twice a week in Amsterdam.

It is one of the oldest student publications in the Netherlands, having been founded in 1890. It mostly focuses on Dutch media, politics, and literature.

Propria Cures has served as a gathering place for independent thinkers, hippies, and budding artists ever since it was founded.

3. He was acquainted with poets Hendrik Marsman and Hendrik de Vries

Hendrik Marsman (1899-1940), Dutch poet photo sourced from

He became acquainted with poets Hendrik Marsman and Hendrik de Vries when he started working for the literary magazines Het Getij in 1921 and later De Vrije Bladen.

4. His first collection of verse was published in 1923

A handwritten letter from Jan Jacob Slauerhoff to Arthur Lehning about the publication of the poetry collection “Archipel” photo sourced from

In 1923, his first collection of poetry, titled Archipel (“Archipelago”), was released.

He made his debut with the collection Archipel *(Archipelago*), which contains nearly all of the components seen in his later work.

5. Slauerhoff was a ship’s doctor on Dutch vessels

After finishing his studies, he started working as a ship’s doctor on Dutch ships bound for East Asia. His ill health frequently resulted in the breach of job agreements.

He consequently lived an itinerant life. Later in 1932, Slauerhoff went to sea again, signing up with the Holland-West-Afrikalijn.

His general bad health continued to worry him, however, and he considered moving to Northern Africa, as this would benefit his health.

6. He married Darja Collin in 1930

Photo of Darja Collin and Jan Jacob Slauerhoff in Merano (Italy). photo sourced from

In September 1930, he married dancer and ballet teacher Darja Collin, the start of a short happy period in his life.

Slauerhoff, however, had relapsed into illness by 1931 (pneumonia and influenza), so he travelled to the Italian health resort Merano to get better. In 1932, his wife moved in with him so they could share the birth of their first kid.

But the baby was stillborn, which caused Slauerhoff to experience severe despair in addition to his medical issues. He began to experience lengthier disease episodes, more severe symptoms, and a decline in his relationship with Darja.

He embarked on yet another naval expedition in 1935, but he also got divorced from Darja Collin.

7. His poetry is considered essentially romantic

Manuscript of The Forbidden Realm by J.J. Slauerhoff photo sourced from

Despite writing during the expressionism era, Garmt Stuiveling and G.J. van Bork claim that Slauerhoff’s poetry is fundamentally romantic: It is heavily autobiographical and shows signs of restlessness, imagination, and a desire for distant lands through association with tramps, explorers, and pirates. 

He is recognized as a late Romantic poet because he longed for the passionate love of a woman, his tragedy of loneliness, his wish to be someplace else or in the past, his desire for the sea, his dissatisfaction with modern life, and his awareness of his degradation.

8. Slauerhoff’s majority of work is concerned with the poor and downtrodden

The underprivileged and impoverished are a major theme in much of Slauerhoff’s writing, particularly in the poetry collections Archipel (1923), Eldorado (1928), Soleares (1933), and Een eerlijk zeemansgraf (1936).

The mayor of Amsterdam forbade a production of his play Jan Pietersz. Coen (1930), was harshly critical of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, a two-term Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies and a 17th-century commander of the Dutch East India Company in Indonesia.

His verses are often ‘unfinished’. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Slauerhoff adhered to classical verse forms, but his verse structure is often irregular.

A deliberate cynicism or grotesque imagery contributes to the coarse nature of his poetry, in which a vulnerable sensitivity shines through the thin membrane of the verse.

9. Slauerhoff was referred to as the only poète maudit in Dutch literature

Dutch poet Slauerhoff standing before a bust of Luíz Vaz de Camões in Macao (between 1927 and 1930) photo by Constancio José da Silva –

Slauerhoff, who is referred to as the only “poète maudit” in Dutch literature, was influenced by various Chinese poets, including Bai Juyi and Li Po, as well as French poets Rimbaud, Verlaine, and Corbière and the Czech/German Rilke, whose work he translated.

10. Slauerhoff is commemorated at the church in Huizum

The annual Slauerhoff Lecture is held in the Friesland village of Huizum. The church in Huizum holds a bronze bust of Slauerhoff’s head, made by Ben van der Geest.

The poet’s parents are among the family members interred at the Huizum cemetery. Since the grave was dug up, the tombstone plate bearing Slauerhoff’s parents’ names has been positioned on a pedestal at the Dorpskerk’s entrance.

Because one of Slauerhoff’s longest poems, In Memoriam Patris, which has 34 stanzas, is devoted to the interment of his father at the same cemetery, the monument has been given this prominent location.