Letters from the Members of the Royal Flemish Academy
Guido Gezelle was a founding member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Dutch Language and Literature. This led to an extensive correspondence with his fellow members, up to a thousand letters. The fellow members were prominent literary figures from Flanders, Northern France and The Netherlands.
Founding Member
The Royal Flemish Academy of Language and Literature was founded in Ghent on the 8th of July 1886. The Academy had two objectives: the promotion of literature in the vernacular and the coordination of initiatives promoting the use of the Dutch language in scientifical developments. Guido Gezelle was one of the founding members.
A Large Correspondence
In March 2020 we started this new project within the online edition of the Guido Gezelle correspondence. Together with a group of volunteers, we are tackling the 1,000 letters from the members of Royal Academy, important figures from the 19th century literary life, such as J.A. Alberdingk Thijm, Pieter Willems, Ignace De Coussemaker, Willem De Vreese, Max Rooses, Jan Van Droogenbroeck, Gerrit Jacob Boekenoogen, Albert Verwey ...
Gezelle's friend Alfons Janssens
Warm Friendship
The tone of the letters is often more business-like when it comes to literary and linguistic subjects. But Gezelle also made friends with some of the other members during the monthly meetings. This often resulted in warm friendships and extensive correspondences with members such as Edward Gailliard, Johan Winkler, Alfons Janssens and Jan Bols.
Editors: Prof. Piet Couttenier, Prof. Rik Van Gorp, Jan Geens, Karel Platteau, Paul Thoen, Stefaan Maes, Bart Vandekerkhove, Els Depuydt, Johan Van Eenoo, Koen Calis, Sofie Leyts, Birgit Ampe, Inge Geysen en Seppe De Schepper
