- published: 04 Mar 2016
- views: 275
Hugo Maurice Julien Claus (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦyˑɣoˑ klɒˑu̯s]; 5 April 1929 – 19 March 2008) was a leading Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, and poetry; he also left a legacy as a painter and film director. He wrote primarily in Dutch, although he also wrote some poetry in English.
His death by euthanasia, which is legal in Belgium, led to considerable controversy.
Hugo Claus was born on 5 April 1929 at Sint-Janshospitaal in Bruges, Belgium. He was the eldest of the sons born to Jozef (Joseph) Claus, a printer who had a passion for theater; his mother was Germaine Vanderlinden. Three more sons were born into the family within the subsequent decade: Guido (February 1931 - 9 November 1991), Odo (born January 1934), and Johan (November 1938 - 13 February 2009).
Educated at a boarding school, the young Hugo Claus lived in Flanders during Nazi Germany's invasion of the country in World War II. Several of Claus' schoolteachers during the half-decade of the German occupation of the country were right-wing nationalists eager to support the Nazi government; his father was briefly held in custody for pro-German activities at the end of the occupation, and Hugo was himself swayed into supporting the pro-German Flemish fascist youth movement. Claus' experience with the wartime nationalist right would later become a source for his 1983 book The Sorrow of Belgium, a novel which tells the story of Claus' alter ego Louis Seynaeve. A sympathizer of the political left at a more mature period in his life, Claus lauded the socialist model after a visit to Cuba in the 1960s.
De Veelvraat Hugo Claus - Canvas
De versie Claus: Hugo Claus in z'n eigen woorden (De Rode Loper)
Hugo Claus - De moeder
De plicht van de dichter: Hugo Claus en de politiek
Nu Nog Hugo Claus
Interview Hugo Claus Het Sacrament De Verlossing Vlaamse Film
Hugo Claus leest zijn gedicht 'West-Vlaanderen'
Tom Lanoye (1) @ Clausmarathon 04.10.09
"Een vrouw" Gedicht van Hugo Claus door Eefje de Visser - 11-2-2013 - De wereld draait door
Reportage NOS Hugo Claus