Albert Helman

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Albert Helman

Albert Helman , pseudonym of Lodewijk (Lou) Alphonsus Maria Lichtveld (born November 7, 1903 in Paramaribo , † July 10, 1996 in Amsterdam ), was a Dutch - Surinamese writer .

life and work

Lodewijk (Lou) Lichtveld, later known under his pseudonym Albert Helman, came from the colorful elite of Suriname. He came from a family with German, Dutch, Creole and local roots.

At the age of twelve he came to the Netherlands to be trained as a priest at the Rolduc boarding school in Kerkrade . He finished this training after a short time and returned to Suriname. At the Paulus School in Paramaribo he made the secondary school leaving certificate and then completed a music degree. Afterwards he worked as an organist and composer .

In 1922 he went back to the Netherlands to begin teacher training and to continue his music studies. After completing his studies, he worked as an organist in Amsterdam and later as a journalist.

His first work in book form was published in 1923. It was a volume of poetry entitled De glorende dag [The dawning day], which was still published under the name Lodewijk Lichtveld. He first used the pseudonym Albert Helman in 1926 in his debut novel Zuid-Zuid-West . Here his memories of his country of birth and the exploitation of Suriname by the Dutch colonizer are central. Many more novels, essays and poems followed. He also worked as a playwright and as a translator of foreign literature into Dutch. His musical work was shown in the silent film Regen (1929) by Joris Ivens , which was released in 1932 as a sound version with a film music composed by Helman.

Spain

In 1932 Helman moved to Spain. Here he fought alongside the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War against the putschists under General Franco. He wrote articles about the civil war for the newspapers NRC Handelsblad and De Groene Amsterdammer . After Franco's victory, Helman first fled to North Africa in 1938 , from there to Mexico and finally returned to the Netherlands in 1939.

resistance

In the Netherlands he was primarily concerned with the lot of Jews who had fled Germany. On behalf of the Committee for Bijzondere Joodse Belangen [Special Jewish Affairs] he wrote the book Millioenen-leed: de tragedie der joodse vluchtelingen in 1940 .

After the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, Helman went underground because, as a well-known anti-fascist, he could no longer appear in public. In the resistance he was active as a forger of personal documents and as a writer of resistance slogans. He also wrote for the illegal paper Vrije Kunstenaar [Free Artist]. During the occupation he wrote under the pseudonyms Joost van den Vondel, Friedrich W. Nietzsche, Hypertonides and Nico Slob. He was also a member of the Grote Raad van de Illegaliteit .

Public offices

Helman (1955)

In 1949 Helman returned to his native Suriname, where he was Minister of Education and Public Development and Minister of Health until 1951. After his resignation as minister, he also held various other offices. He was chairman of the Suriname Court of Auditors and director of the Popular Reading Office. In 1961 he was appointed to the Dutch Embassy in Washington . Here he was part of the Kingdom's delegation to the United Nations , which was specifically concerned with the perception of Surinamese interests.

After his retirement he settled in Tobago in the Caribbean, later in Airole , Italy and finally in Amsterdam- Buitenveldert , where he died at the age of 92.

Awards

Bibliography (selection)

Works

literature

  • De glorende dag . Joost van den Vondel (Ed.), Amsterdam 1923.
  • The Rancho of the Ten Mysteries . Gutenberg Book Guild, Zurich 1949.
  • Fall into the volcano . Gutenberg Book Guild, Zurich 1953.
  • Glowing silence . Book Club Ex Libris, Switzerland 1955.
  • Chiefs of the Oayapok! . Straelener Manuskripte, Straelen 1990, ISBN 3-89107-028-4 .

A detailed catalog of works can be found in the Dutch version of Wikipedia.

Musical compositions

  • Oratorio Cancio mistica , for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and large orchestra (1929)
  • Concertino for piano and orchestra (1932)
  • Music for the film Rain by Joris Ivens (1929)
  • Music for the film Philips Radio by Joris Ivens (1930)

A detailed catalog of works is available from Tobias Bröker .

Literary translations

Secondary literature

  • Jan van Donselaar: Het splendid inland? - het beruchte oerwoud: Albert Helman over de natuur , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1995, 14 (1), pp. 53-65.
  • Kees van Doorne: Dyeme fu Sranan: Albert Helmans Sranan-poëzie , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1995, 14 (1): pp. 43-53.
  • Michiel van Kempen: 'Albert Helman'. In: Kritisch Lexicon van de Moderne Nederlandstalige Literatuur , afl. 71, November 1988 (with an extensive bibliography on primary and secondary literature).
  • Michiel van Kempen: De creatieve contestatie van een gladde aap: 'Mijn aap lacht' van Albert Helman , in: OSO 1995, 14 (1), pp. 8-22.
  • Michiel van Kempen: A divorced van de Surinaamse literatuur . De Geus, Breda 2003 (2 parts).
  • Michiel van Kempen: Rusteloos en overal; het leven van Albert Helman . In de Knipscheer, Haarlem 2016, ISBN 978-90-6265-925-8 .
  • Wilfred Lionarons: Heimwee en Helman , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1995 14 (1), pp. 65-71.
  • Frank Martinus: Albert Helman, de eenzame hunter . Cahier van het Instituut voor de Opleiding van Leraren, Paramaribo 1977.
  • Hilda van Neck-Yoder: Colonialism and the Author: Albert Helman's 'Hoofden van de Oayapok!' , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1988, 7 (1), pp. 21-30.
  • Hans Ramsoedh: Albert Helman: Een inleiding , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1995, 14 (1), pp. 5-8.
  • Hans Ramsoedh: Helmans politieke kruistochen , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1995, 14 (1), pp. 22–37.
  • Hans Ramsoedh: In memoriam Albert Helman , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1996, 15 (2), pp. 202-205.
  • GW Rutgers: De Indiaan in Albert Helman , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1993, 12 (2), pp. 161-167.
  • Tony van Verre ontmoet Albert Helman. Uit het leven van een dwarsliggende indiaan. De Gooise Uitgeverij, Bussum 1980.
  • Henk Waltmans: Over Albert Helman as a catholic jongere , in: Zeitschrift OSO 1998, 17 (2), pp. 169–180.

Web links

Commons : Albert Helman  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.tobias-broeker.de/rare-manuscripts/gl/lichtveld-lou/
personal data
SURNAME Helman, Albert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lichtveld, Lodewijk Alphonsus Maria; Lichtveld, Lou
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch-Surinamese politician and poet
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Paramaribo
DATE OF DEATH July 10, 1996
Place of death Amsterdam