Gerrit Krol

His penultimate book of poetry De kleur van Groningen (‘The Colour of Groningen’) is subtitled ‘and other stories’.

In a recent interview Gerrit Krol said: ‘I think what moves me is a different kind of beauty from that of, say, the traditionally romantic poets. I am moved by the sight of a gas extraction field with flare pipes glowing in the evening sun. A traffic circle at night, deserted but for a single car, waiting for a red light. A bus doing its scheduled rounds without a soul getting on board. To me that is beauty.’

Krol’s occupation with mathematics, logic and the exact sciences can be traced throughout his literary writings, many of which include reflections on time and space, on language systems, or the workings of the human brain. In 1971 he even published an essay describing a computer programme designed to compose poetry, called APPI (Automatic Poetry by Pointed Information). Later he dismissed the project as ‘an unsuccessful hoax’, reaffirming the indispensible role of the poet.

Krol’s most recent poems, published in De kleur van Groningen and Geen man, want geen vrouw (‘No man, since no woman’) could be described as a kind of thought experiments. The train of thought is tentative and associative, with the poet proposing an idea, then recapturing himself, rejecting or correcting the earlier statement. This process invites the reader to feel he is thinking along with the poet and watching the poem take shape before his eyes. The critic Piet Gerbrandy said it like this: ‘Krol entices the reader by laying out his thoughts side by side, naked and pure.’ A surprising characteristic of Krol’s work is the fact that this process often produces strongly moving poetry.

Gerrit Krol’s unique oeuvre won him many honours. In 2002 he was awarded the Netherlands’ chief literary accolade, the P.C. Hooft Prize for Literature. Bibliography

Poetry
Een morgen in maart, Querido, Amsterdam, 1967
APPI Automatic Poetry by Pointed Information: Poëzie met een Computer, Querido, Amsterdam, 1971
Laatste Gedichten, Prop, Terhorst, 1988
Ameland, Prop, Terhorst, 1994
De Kleur van Groningen en Andere Verhalen, Querido, Amsterdam, 1997
De Vergeten Kaars, Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken, Groningen, 1999
Geen Man, Want Geen Vrouw, Querido, Amsterdam, 2001
't komt allemaal goed, Querido, Amsterdam, 2005

Prose
De Rokken van Joy Scheepmaker, Querido, Amsterdam, 1962
Kwartslag, Querido, Amsterdam, 1964
De Zoon van de Levende Stad, Querido, Amsterdam, 1966
Het Gemillimeterde Hoofd, Querido, Amsterdam, 1967
De Ziekte van Middleton, Querido, Amsterdam, 1969
De Laatste Winter, Querido, Amsterdam, 1970
Over het uittrekken van een broek, Querido, Amsterdam, 1970
De Man van het Lateraal Denken, Paris-Manteau, Amsterdam, 1971
De Chauffeur Verveelt Zich, Querido, Amsterdam, 1973
In Dienst van de ‘Koninklijke’, Querido, Amsterdam, 1974
Halte Opgeheven en Andere Verhalen, Querido, Amsterdam, 1976
De Weg naar Sacramento, Querido, Amsterdam, 1977
Een Fries Huilt Niet, Querido, Amsterdam, 1980
De Man achter het Raam, Querido, Amsterdam, 1982
Scheve Levens, Querido, Amsterdam, 1983
Maurits en de Feiten, Querido, Amsterdam, 1986
De Weg naar Tuktoyaktuk, Querido, Amsterdam, 1987
De Hagemeijertjes, Querido, Amsterdam, 1990
Omhelzingen, Querido, Amsterdam, 1993
Okoka's Wonderpark, Querido, Amsterdam, 1994
De Oudste Jongen, Querido, Amsterdam, 1998
De Vitalist, Querido, Amsterdam, 2000
Een Schaaknovelle, Querido, Amsterdam, 2002
Rondo Veneziano, Querido, Amsterdam, 2004
Sofa aan Zee, Querido, Amsterdam, 2005
Duivelskermis, Querido, AMsterdam, 2007

Non-fiction
60 000 Uur, Querido, Amsterdam, 1998 (Autobiography)

Links
In Dutch
Krol’s literary obituary by Dutch news organisation NRC

In English
A short biography for Krol on the NL Times

This text was written in 2002, following Krol's final appearance at the Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam.