Herman Brusselmans
| Herman Brusselmans | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
Herman Frans Martha Brusselmans 9 October 1957 Hamme, East-Flanders, Belgium |
| Occupation | Novelist, poet, playwright, columnist |
| Language | Dutch |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Alma mater | University of Ghent |
| Period | 1982–present |
| Notable work(s) |
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| Spouse(s) |
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Herman Frans Martha Brusselmans (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɦɛrmɑn ˈbrʏsəlmɑns]; born 9 October 1957) is a Flemish novelist, poet, playwright and columnist. He lives in Ghent.
Herman Brusselmans studied Germanic philology at the University of Ghent. In his early twenties he was a football player. He played as a left winger for Vigor Hamme and Sporting Lokeren. He now has his own football team called "De Woody's", after his late dog Woody. Brusselmans married Gloria Van Iddergem in 1981 but divorced from her ten years later. He married his second wife Tania De Metsenaere in 2005. Their relationship ended in 2011.
Brusselmans gained widespread popularity in the early 1980s as part of the new generation of young Flemish novelists that included Tom Lanoye and Kristien Hemmerechts.
Although Herman Brusselmans once stated in the Flemish magazine HUMO that he would stop writing about existing people and situations, his work kept on being highly autobiographical. Alcohol, sex and boredom are recurring themes throughout his work.
Not only his work contributed to his stardom, but also his media appearances. He used to have his own television show, and still appears regularly on talkshows. He also has a weekly column in HUMO. Bold, straightforward statements and comments have become his trademark throughout the years and don't fail to attract attention, what cost him several lawsuits, the most memorable of which was when Ann Demeulemeester, a Belgian fashion designer, filed a complaint with the courts about a remark about her in Uitgeverij Guggenheimer. This led to a temporary recall of the book in Belgium.
Critics refer to the recurrences of sex, drugs and boredom in his work by calling it monotonous. Also the autobiographical side and the bold statements are widely regarded as a lack of quality. Nonetheless he is immensely popular and one of the best-selling authors in Flanders.
He played an autistic Hells Angel painting surrealist slogans on caravans in the movie Camping Cosmos (1996).
In early 2007 a film adaptation of Brusselman's novel Ex Drummer was released, directed by Koen Mortier.
Partial bibliography
- 1982 Het zinneloze zeilen (stories) "The meaningles sailing"
- 1984 Prachtige ogen (novel)"Wonderful eyes"
- 1985 De man die werk vond (novel) "The man who found a job"
- 1986 Heden ben ik nuchter (novel) "Presently I'm sober"
- 1987 Zijn er kanalen in Aalst? (novel) "Are there channels in Aalst?"
- 1988 De aambeien van Rik De Clercq (horror) "The hemorrhoids of Rik De Clercq"
- 1988 De Geschiedenis van de Vlaamse Letterkunde. "The history of Flemisch Literature"
- 1988 Iedere zondag sterven en doodgaan in de week (short novel) "Passing away every Sunday and dying in the week"
- 1989 Dagboek van een vermoeide egoïst (novel) "Diary of a tired egoist"
- 1989 De Canadese muur (play), together with Tom Lanoye "The Canadian wall"
- 1989 De Geschiedenis van de Wereldliteratuur (columns) "History of World Literature"
- 1990 Vlucht voor mij (novel)"Run away from me"
- 1991 Ex-schrijver (novel) "Ex-writer"
- 1992 Het mooie kotsende meisje (stories)"The pretty puking girl"
- 1993 Ex-minnaar (novel) "Ex-lover"
- 1994 Ex-drummer (novel) "Ex-drummer"
- 1994 Het oude nieuws van deze tijden (novel)"Nowadays old news"
- 1995 De terugkeer van Bonanza (novel) "The return of Bonanza"
- 1995 Vrouwen met een IQ (novel) "Women with an IQ"
- 1996 Autobiografie van iemand anders (novel) "Autobiography of someone else"
- 1996 Guggenheimer wast witter (novel) "Guggenheimer washes whiter"
- 1997 Meisjes hebben grotere borsten dan jongens. (children's poetry) "Girls have bigger breasts than boys"
- 1997 Zul je mij altijd graag zien? (autobiography) "Will you love me forever?"
- 1997 Logica voor idioten (semi-autobiographical novel) "Logics for idiots"
- 1998 Bloemen op mijn graf (collection of stories, columns, poetry, etc.) "Flowers on my grave"
- 1998 Nog drie keer slapen en ik word wakker (novel) "Sleeping three more times and I'll wake up"
- 1999 Het einde van mensen in 1967 (stories) "The end of people in 1967"
- 1999 Uitgeverij Guggenheimer (novel) "Publisher Guggenheimer"
- 2000 Vergeef mij de liefde (novel) "Forgive me the love"
- 2000 De koffer (comic book) "The suitcase"
- 2000 Jeroen P. liefde voor zijn puisten (novel) " Jeroen P. the love for his pimples"
- 2001 Pitface (novel)
- 2002 De Kus in de Nacht (novel) "The Kiss in the Night"
- 2002 Mank (novel) "Limping"
- 2003 De Droogte (novel) "The Drought"
- 2004 Ik ben rijk en beroemd en heb nekpijn (novel)"I'm rich and famous and a have a neckache"
- 2004 In de knoei (novel) "In trouble"
- 2004 Heilige schrik (Collection of columns published in HUMO) "Holy fear"
- 2005 Het spook van Toetegaai (novel) "The ghost of Toetegaai"
- 2006 De dollartekens in de ogen van Moeder Theresa (short story) "The dollar signs in the eyes of Mother Theresa"
- 2007 Muggepuut (novel)
- 2008 Toos (novel)
- 2009 Mijn haar is lang (novel) "My hair is long"
- 2009 Kaloemmerkes in de zep (novel) "Tadpoles in the gutter"
- 2010 Trager dan de snelheid (novel)"Slower than speed"
- 2010 Vragen van liefde (short story) "Questions of love"
- 2011 Van drie tot zes (novel) "From three to six"
- 2011 De biografie van John Muts (novel) "The biography of John Muts"
- 2012 Watervrees tijdens een verdrinking (novel) "Fear of water during drowning"
- 2012 Guggenheimer in de mode (novel) "Guggenheimer in fashion"
- 2013 Mogelijke memoires (novel) "Possible memoirs"
- 2013 De Qualastofont (novel) "The Qualastofont"
See also
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