Paul de Wispelaere

Paul de Wispelaere (born July 4, 1928, Assebroek, near Brugge, Belgium—died December 2, 2016, Maldegem) was a Flemish novelist, essayist, and critic whose avant-garde works examined the individual’s search for identity and the relationship between literature and life.

De Wispelaere began his career as an editor for several literary periodicals. From 1972 to 1992 he was professor of modern literature of the Netherlands at the University of Antwerp, and he also served as editor in chief (1981–83) of the Nieuw Vlaams Tijdschrift (“New Flemish Review”). In his writings and literary criticism, de Wispelaere resisted the prevalent influence of structuralism and deliberately created an ambivalence about the process of writing and his own insights.

The novels Een eiland worden (1963; “To Become an Island”) and Mijn levende schaduw (1965; “My Living Shadow”) were written in the first person and explored the polarity of author and observer. In Paul-tegenpaul, 1969–1970 (1970; “Paul Against Paul”) and Een dag op het land (1976; “A Day on the Ground”), the central theme was the duality of the writer’s personality. His other novels were Tussen tuin en wereld (1979; “Between Garden and World”), Mijn huis is nergens meer (1982; “I Have No Home Now”), and Brieven uit nergenshuizen (1986; “Letters from Nowhere”).

Some of de Wispelaere’s works combined narrative with autobiographical notes, diary entries, polemics, and literary criticism. His collections of critical essays included Het Perzische tapijt (1966; “The Persian Rug”), Met kritisch oog (1967; “With a Critical Eye”), and De broek van Sartre en andere essays (1987; “Sartre’s Trousers and Other Essays”).