Anton Valens
Anton Valens (1964 - 2021) was both an artist and a writer. His books were nominated many times and received various awards. He came to be a striking voice in Dutch letters who created a wholly individual literary universe, filled with plodding men who can barely cope with life, described with empathy and humour.
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Whether it be the sombre home help in his debut Meester in de hygiene (Master of Hygiene, 2004), the impoverished artist from the novella Vis (Fish, 2009) or the self-help group of letter-phobics who read each other’s mail under the motto ‘a letter shared is a letter halved’ from Het boek ONT (Man & Post, 2013): with deft prose, cheerful irony and compassion Valens transforms people who live with frustrated ambitions on the margins of society into moving, vividly drawn characters. Een wagon vol duivels (A Wagon Full of Devils, 2022) is an absurdist novella about the irresistible urge to create art and the fear of failure.
