Thea Doelwijt

Thea Doelwijt (born 3 December 1938) is a Surinamese-Dutch writer.

Thea Doelwijt
Thea Doelwijt
Born	Theodora Christina Doelwijt (1938-12-03) 3 December 1938 (age 86) Den Helder, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Occupation	Writer

Life

Doelwijt's father was Surinamese and her mother was Dutch. She came to Suriname in 1961 where she worked as a journalist for the newspaper, Suriname. She was editor of the magazine, Moetete (1968–69). Doelwijt wrote two widely read novels, and in the 1970s and 1980s, she wrote many plays, musicals and cabaret acts, including A Fat Black Woman Like Me and Iris.^[1] She developed several important anthologies and wrote children's books. Doelwijt also contributed to the English-language anthology of Surinamese literature, Diversity is power (2007). As a writer-in-residence, Doelwijt developed major workshops in Suriname.

In 1974, she received the Governor Currie Prize. In 1982, after the December Murders, Doelwijt returned to the Netherlands, and became a full-time writer.^[2] In 1989, she received an award for her contribution to Surinamese culture. Since 1998, she has been a member of the Society of Dutch Literature. Doelwijt is a contemporary of Benny Ooft.^[3]

Selected works

• De speelse revolutie (1967)
• Met weinig woorden (1968)
• Wajono (1969)
• Kri! kra! Proza van Suriname (1972)
• Toen Mathilde niet wilde ... (1972)
• Land te koop, (1973)
• Geen geraas of getier (1974)
• Kainema de Wreker en de menseneters (1977)
• Rebirth in words (1981)
• Iris (1987)
• Op zoek naar Mari Watson (1987)
• Cora-o (1988)
• Diversity is power (2007)

Notes

1. Rowell, Charles H. (Summer 1998). "An Interview With Thea Doelwijt". Callaloo. 21 (3). Project MUSE: 611–613. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
2. G.J. van Bork (2003). "Schrijvers en dichters (dbnl biografieënproject I)". Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 May 2020.
3. Arnold, A. James (23 July 2001). A History of Literature in the Caribbean: Volume 2: English- and Dutch-speaking regions. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 543–. ISBN 978-90-272-9833-1.

References

• Michiel van Kempen, ‘Thea Doelwijt’. In: Kritisch Lexicon van de Moderne Nederlandstalige Literatuur, no. 49, May 1993. (Dutch language)
• Michiel van Kempen, Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur. Breda: De Geus, 2003, deel II, p. 72-724, 736, 818-822, 920-921, 925, 1005-1006, 1020, 1184-1185, 1198, 1202-1203. (Dutch language)

External links

• Thea Doelwijt at Digital Library for Dutch Literature (in Dutch. De inspiratie van Sophie Redmond is available as free download)