4 - The Piet Paaltjens Myth: François HaverSchmidt

Summary

Piet Paaltjens, the alter ego of Francois HaverSchmidt (1835-1894), is a good example of the romantic, suffering poet, looking scornfully at the world. In the Netherlands the poems from his famous volume of poetry Snikken en grimlachjes (1867) (Sobs and sneers) are regarded as the most readable poems of the nineteenth century. To this day they are still appreciated, even outside the gates of the university – Piet Paaltjens is still alive and well in the cultural memory of the Netherlands. Many places have statues, poem-murals and plaques in his honour. He is also the only nineteenth-century poet who is still read in secondary schools.

How can his popularity be explained? Apart from the power of his poems, the figure of the pale youngster Piet Paaltjens undoubtedly also had an influence. He was born on 14 February 1835 in Leeuwarden. After primary school he went to the gymnasium and in 1852 to Leiden University where he studied theology and came under the influence of ‘modern’ theology. HaverSchmidt was an active and popular student. Amongst other functions, he was chairperson of the Leiden student fraternity and editor of the Studentenalmanak (Student Yearbook). The year 1858 marked the end of what he at the time already regarded as the most beautiful period of his life. The following year he became vicar at the Frisian town of Foudgum, and in 1862 he was invited as vicar to Den Helder and two years later to Schiedam. Due to his modern religious beliefs HaverSchmidt became isolated.

In Schiedam he published the book that would make him famous: Snikken en grimlachjes. During his life a total of six reprints were published. Some of these poems had already appeared in the Studentenalmanak. Apart from his fame as a poet he also became a well-known orator, travelling the entire country to recite his work. In 1876 a selection from his realistic-sentimental stories, with which he reached a large audience, was published under the title Familie en kennissen (Family and Acquaintances). Despite his success HaverSchmidt suffered from depression. In 1894 he took his own his life.

In this chapter the name Piet Paaltjens will mostly be used to refer to the poet, as it is under this name that HaverSchmidt became known. Writing under a pseudonym was not unusual in the nineteenth century. Other examples are Nicolaas Beets (Hildebrand) and Eduard Douwes Dekker (Multatuli).