Herman de Coninck (21 February 1944–22 May 1997) was a Flemish poet, essayist, journalist and publisher. Born in Mechelen, Belgium, his parents ran a bookshop. He attended the Sint-Rombouts College in Mechelen where he contributed to the school newspaper. Determined to become a writer, he studied Germanic philology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. While in Leuven he wrote for the University paper Universitas. Graduating in 1966, he took up teaching in Berchem. In 1970 he left teaching to become an editor of the weekly magazine HUMO, a post he held until 1983. Tired of interviews, he became editor-in-chief of the magazine Nieuw Wereldtijdschrift. Under his direction, NWT combined journalism and literature. De Coninck was less of a businessman than a writer, and the magazine was not a commercial success. As a poet, De Conick aimed to produce poetry for the masses. His first volume, De Lenige Liefde, appeared in 1969, becoming the best-selling volume of 20th century Flemish poetry and winning literary prizes. The death of De Coninck's first wife, An Somers, in a car accident in 1971 began a difficult period in his life. The loss of his wife deeply influenced his second volume of poetry, Zolang er sneeuw ligt, and the next, Verjaardagsvers, which repeated the success of his first volume in winning several literary awards. De Coninck's later poetry, Met een klank van hobo in 1980, and De hectaren van het geheugen in 1985, was more romantic in tone. He was a prolific letter-writer, keeping the letters he received and making copies of all the letters he sent. At his death, he left some 15,000 letters behind. A collection of these, selected and edited by Hugo Brems, was published as Een aangename postumiteit in 2004. Herman de Coninck died of a heart attack while attending a conference in Lisbon.
See also
External links
- (Dutch) HermandeConinck.be
