Jan Wolkers
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Jan Hendrik Wolkers (October 26 1925 – October 19, 2007) was a Dutch author and artist, best known for his novel Turkish Delight.
Biography
He was born in Oegstgeest. In post World War II Dutch literature he is considered one of the "Great Four" along with Willem Frederik Hermans, Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve (the latter authors are also known as the "Great Three"). He became noted in the sixties mainly for his strikingly direct descriptions of sex. In his later years, however, he became recognised for his appealing and original style rather than for his troubles with the conservative society in his early days. His 1969 novel Turkish Delight' was made into a highly successful movie, and translated into ten different languages. In 1982, he refused to accept the Constantijn Huygensprijs, and the P.C. Hooftprijs in 1989.
From 1980 until his death he resided on the island of Texel. A number of his outdoor statues in the Netherlands have been subject to vandalism, presumably due to his use of glass as a construction material. Some examples are the Auschwitz-monument in Amsterdam and the monument on the dike at Ceres on Texel. In reaction to the destruction of the monument in 2003, Wolkers announced that he would use less glass and more steel for such monuments in future. The Jac. P. Thijsse monument in the water at Elemert on Texel does contain more steel, but glass is still a substantial part of the artwork.