Cees Nooteboom

Born

1933-07-31

Birthplace

The Hague, Netherlands

Biography

Cornelis Johannes Jacobus Maria 'Cees' Nooteboom (born July 31, 1933) is a Dutch novelist, poet and journalist. He has won numerous literary awards and has been mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature. Nooteboom's first novel, Philip en de anderen (Philip and the Others, 1988 English translation), was published in 1954 and won the Anne Frank Prize. His second novel, De ridder is gestorven (1963) (The Knight Has Died, English edition, 1990) was his last for 17 years. During that period, he mainly wrote poetry and travel books, establishing his name as a renowned travel writer. The anthology of his writings on Spain, De omweg naar Santiago (Roads to Santiago, 1997), inspired several Spanish and Dutch composers. In 1980, his third novel Rituelen (Rituals, 1983) brought him wide acclaim in the Netherlands, winning the Pegasus Prize as well as the Ferdinand Bordewijk Prize. It was his first novel to be translated into English and was published by Louisiana State University Press, which published two of his earlier novels in English, as well as others through 1990. His best-known work to English-speaking audiences might be The Following Story (Het volgende verhaal, 1991), which was written for the Dutch Boekenweek in 1991. It won the Aristeion Prize in 1993.