James Holmes (Author)

James Stratton Holmes, 1981

James Stratton Holmes (born May 2, 1924 in Collins , Iowa , † November 6, 1986 in Amsterdam ) was a Dutch author and poet.

Holmes was born in Collins, Iowa and attended Quaker College in Oskaloosa , Iowa and William Penn College in Haveford . He then began studying at Brown University. In 1949, Holmes interrupted his studies in the United States and went to the Netherlands as an English teacher as part of the Fulbright exchange program, where he stayed permanently and took on Dutch citizenship . He initially taught in Kasteel Eerde with Ommen . He began writing poetry under pseudonyms such as Jim Holmes and Jacob Lowland. He has also written articles for various Dutch magazines: “Gard Sivik”, especially for literary magazines such as Litterair Paspoort , De Gids , De Nieuwe Stem , Maatstaf and De Revisor .

In 1956, Holmes won the Martinus Nijhoff Prize in the Netherlands , the leading Dutch prize for literary translations into the Dutch language. In 1964 he became a lecturer at the University of Amsterdam . There he became a co-founder of Dutch Gay Studies. In 1984 Holmes received the Vertaalprijs from the Vlaamse Gemeenschap. Holmes died in 1986 of complications from AIDS .

Works (selection)

• Nine Hidebound Rimes , poems 1977, Amsterdam 1978
• The Gay Stud's Guide to Amsterdam and Other Sonnets , Amsterdam 1978; 2nd edition 1980 (under the pseudonym Jacob Lowland)
• Billy and the Banquet , Amsterdam 1982, (under the pseudonym Jacob Lowland)
• Early Verse , 1947–1957, Amsterdam / New York 1985

literature

• Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History, from WWII to Present Day , R. Aldrich and G. Wotherspoon, Routledge, London, 2001

Web links

• James Stratton Holmes Biography