Guus Kuijer. Award Laureate 2012 1
Guus Kuijer, born 1942, grew up in a strictly rel
igious home in Amsterdam. He did not enjoy school but nevertheless decided to train as a primary teacher. He taught for six years until 1973, when he published his first novel and became a full-time writer. Two years later, he made his debut as a children’s author with Met de poppen gooien (1975, Daisy’s New Head). Kuijer has published over 30 books for children and young adults, mostly for readers in their early teens. Several of his works have been adapted for film or stage. Early in his career, Guus Kuijer became active in the public debate. In the early 1980s he published a collection of essays dealing with how children are perceived by society, Het geminachte kind (1980, The Despised Child). In recent years, some of his writings have covered issues relating to intolerance and fundamentalism – hot topics in today’s Netherlands. Respect for the child as an individual permeates Kuijer’s entire literary production. He addresses children with the same degree of seriousness and openness as if they were adults, and does not avoid difficult subjects. The consistent message of his books is one of tolerance, understanding and broad-mindedness. His commitment extends to social and religious issues alike. Kuijer strongly repudiates religious dogmatism but leaves the door open to private experiences of a transcendental, existential nature. The characters he creates sometimes enter imaginary worlds of equal importance to the real world. He combines openness and sharp intellect with great understanding of the importance of the imagination. In his debut work, Met de poppen gooien, we catch glimpses of what would later become typical features of Kuijer’s writing: a strong female protagonist who speaks her mind, and a keen eye for social issues. The book was the first in a series of five about nine-year-old Madelief, published between 1975 and 1979. The fourth title, Krassen in het tafelblad (1978, Scratches on the Tabletop), in which Madelief tries to find out why nobody liked her late grandmother, attracted particular attention. The picture that emerges is one of a woman who was never able to fit in with convention and the traditional role of wife and mother. The Madelief series enjoyed great success. Kuijer’s next work, the satirical Hoe Mieke Mom haar maffe moeder vindt (1978, How Mieke Mom Finds Her Wacky Mother), provoked a certain amount of discussion. Mieke Mom is a completely different kind of children’s book – one that many people found provocative, not only because of its absurd