Надгробие Анны Марии Гертруды Шмидт в Амстердаме

Надгробие Анны Марии Гертруды Шмидт в Амстердаме

Annie Maria Geertruida Schmidt Kapelle, 20 May 1911Amsterdam, 21 May 1995was a prolific Dutch writer, especially cherished for her children’s books–“the most versatile and most talented children’s book author in the Netherlands.”She is called the mother of the Dutch theatrical songand the queen of Dutch children’s literature,praised for her “delicious Dutch idiom,”and considered one of the greatest Dutch writers.An ultimate honour was extended to her posthumously, in 2007, when a group of Dutch historians compiled the “Canon of Dutch History” and included Schmidt, alongside national icons such as Vincent van Gogh and Anne Frank.

Although Schmidt wrote poetry, songs, books, plays, musicals, and radio and television drama, she is known best for her children’s literature. Perhaps her best-known work for children is the series Jip and Janneke, for which she received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1988. Many of her books, such as Pluk van de Petteflet, were illustrated by Fiep Westendorp. Her final book, Wat Ik Nog Weet, a book of childhood memories, appeared in 1992. She committed suicide a day after her 84th birthday (with a combination of pills and alcohol) and was buried in Amsterdam.

Annie M.G. Schmidt’s gravestone.