Moens, Wies 1898–1982

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Moens, Wies 1898–1982

PERSONAL: Born January 28, 1898, in St. Gillis, Belgium; died February 5, 1982, in Geleen, Netherlands. Education: Attended University of Ghent, 1916–18.

CAREER: Poet, essayist, and politician. Founder of Pogen (literary journal).

WRITINGS:

POETRY

De boodschap (title means "The Message"), De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belguim), 1920.

De tocht (title means "The Journey"), De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1921.

Opgangen (title means "Progress"), De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1922.

Landing, De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1923.

Golfslag (title means "Undertow"), De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1935.

Het Vierkant, De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1938.

Poezie, 1919–1925, De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1941.

Het spoor, Uitgeverij Wiek Op (Brugge, Belgium), 1944.

De verslagene, Ernest Van Aelst (Maastricht, Netherlands), 1962.

Gedichten 1918–1967, 1968.

ESSAYS

De dooden leven: René de Clercq, Lodewijk Dosfel, Oscar de Gruyter en Karel van den Oever, Phalanx (Brussels, Belgium), 1938.

Nederlandsche letterkunde van volksch standpunt gezien, Dietsche Boekhandel (Rotterdam, Netherlands), 1939, 2nd edition, Uitgeverij Wiek op (Brugge, Belgium), 1941.

De spitsboog, Uitgeverij Wiek Op (Brugge, Belgium), 1943.

Also author of Proza, 1969.

OTHER

Celbrieven (autobiography; title means "Letters from Prison"), De Sikkel (Antwerp, Belgium), 1920.

Dertig dagen oorlog, Uitgeverij Wiek Op (Brugge, Belgium), 1941.

Onze volksche adel, rede uitgesproken te Mechelen op 25 November 1941, Volk en staat (Antwerp, Belgium), 1942.

(With Albert Servaes) Albert Servaes: De kruisweg van 1919, Colibrant-Uitgaven, 1969.

Memoires (autobiography), Kritak (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1996.

Contributor to Ruimte, Pogen, and Dietbrand.

SIDELIGHTS: Wies Moens was a Flemish poet, essayist, and politician who was one of the leaders of the Flemish Expressionist movement. In his 1920 autobiography Celbrieven ("Letters from Prison"), he expresses great hope that a better society could be created than any yet formed. In his writing, he favored the then-revolutionary style of blank verse, plain in terms of meter and rhyme, but animated by dynamic rhythm and fresh imagery.

Belgium was occupied by Germany during the time Moens attended the University of Ghent, where courses were given in Flemish under sponsorship of the Germans. From 1918 to 1921, Moens was imprisoned because of his affiliation with the revolutionary wing of the Flemish government, which demanded equal rights for the Flemish-speaking citizenry from the Belgian government. His first works, De boodschap and Celbrieven, were published while he was in jail.

De boodschap ("The Message") blends free lyrics, cosmic imagery, and a vague yet passionate idealism with Christian themes and Flemish nationalism. The verses in De boodschap are distinguished by their fluent language. Largely on the strength of De boodschap, Moens became one of the leaders of Ruimte, a review that stood for humanitarian expressionism and opposed naturalist, impressionistic writing. To the young people of the day, Moens's work sent out a call for a total renewal of Flemish poetry.

Celbrieven is an autobiographical work that announces the author's alliance with traditional Catholic and Flemish-nationalist goals. By the time Moens published Opgangen ("Progress") and Landing, his optimism was beginning to sound somewhat forced. Moens founded Pogen, another literary journal, after Ruimte ceased publication. This new journal espoused a strictly Catholic view of literature and art. The narrowing of Moens's nationalism can be further noted in Golfslag ("Undertow") and in his work for the review Dietbrand.

During the German occupation of Belgium in World War II, Moens took a prominent position with the broadcasting station in Brussels. His goal was to work for a new independent nation, made up of Holland and the Flemish community. He was sentenced to death after World War II, but he went to Holland, where he continued his work as a poet and essayist.