Rick Honings

Rick Honings (Heerlen, 1984) is a Dutch literature scholar at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS), ^[1] who specializes in nineteenth-century Dutch and Dutch Indies literature. There he is also since 2020 Scaliger professor as an ambassador for the Special Collections at Leiden University Libraries. ^[2] Honings is editor-in-chief of the journal Indische Letteren. Tijdschrift van de Werkgroep Indisch-Nederlandse Letterkunde. ^[3]

Quote

We have seen that in the Netherlands a peculiar link existed between Calvinism and celebrity, especially clear in the cases of Bilderdijk and Da Costa. This phenomenon was characteristic of the Netherlands where Protestantism was all-encompassing. Both Bilderdijk and Da Costa were not only well-known poets, but also became famous (or infamous) as orthodox-Calvinist mentors. Nicolaas Beets and François HaverSchmidt became famous authors during their student years. This too is a phenomenon characteristic of the Dutch situation. Being students these authors had the freedom to experiment within the literary context. Finally, authors were strongly influenced by literary examples from abroad. Beets and HaverSchmidt did not shy away from modelling their images as lookalikes of international authors like Byron or Heine.

— Rick Honings, Star Authors in the Age of Romanticism : Literary Celebrity in the Netherlands, Amsterdam University Press, 2018, pp. 224-225.

Publications

Honing's publications include: ^[4]

in English

• Honings, Rick (2017). "Travelling through the Emerald Belt: A Plea for a Post-Colonial Double Perspective". In Reeuwijk, Alexander (ed.). Voyage of discovery. Exploring the collections of the Asian library of Leiden University. Leiden: Leiden University Press. pp. 166–177. ISBN   9789087282745. OCLC   990548766. 335 pages.
• Honings, Rick (2018). Star Authors in the Age of Romanticism: Literary Celebrity in the Netherlands explores the rise of literary celebrity in the 19th century. Leiden: Leiden University Press. ISBN   9789087283087. OCLC   1038006946 . Retrieved 7 August 2025. 275 pages. Online access through the Leiden University library catalogue. ^[5]
• Honings, Rick; Op de Beek, Esther, eds. (2023). Animals in Dutch Travel Writing, 1800‑present. Leiden: Leiden University Press. ISBN   9789087284022. OCLC   1355602155. 295 pages. Downloadable PDF.
• Jedamski, Doris; Honings, Rick, eds. (2023). Travelling the Dutch East Indies. Historical Perspectives and Literary Representations. Hilversum: Verloren. ISBN   9789464550450. OCLC   1370641869. 229 pages.

in Dutch

• Honings, Rick (2011). Geleerdheids zetel, Hollands roem! : het literaire leven in Leiden 1760-1860[Seat of learning, Dutch glory! : literary life in Leiden 1760-1860] (in Dutch). Leiden: Primavera Pers. ISBN   9789059971141. OCLC   1024185891. PhD thesis Leiden, 497 pages.
• Honings, Rick; van Zonneveld, Peter (2013). De gefnuikte arend. Het leven van Willem Bilderdijk [The Crippled Eagle. The Life of Willem Bilderdijk] (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Prometheus, Bert Bakker. ISBN   9789035138094. OCLC   862445484. 652 pages.
• Honings, Rick (2016). De dichter als idool. Literaire roem in de negentiende eeuw[The Poet as Idol. Literary Fame in the Nineteenth Century] (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Bert Bakker. ISBN   9789035144316. OCLC   937416602. 511 pages.
• Honings, Rick; van 't Veer, Coen; Bel, Jacqueline, eds. (2021). De postkoloniale spiegel. De Nederlands-Indische letteren herlezen[The Postcolonial Mirror. Rereading Dutch-Indonesian Literature] (in Dutch). Leiden: Leiden University Press. ISBN   9789087283735. OCLC   1259044962. 536 pages.
• Honings, Rick (2023). De ontdekking van Insulinde. Op reis in Nederlands-Indië in de negentiende eeuw[The Discovery of Insulinde. Traveling in the Dutch East Indies in the nineteenth century] (in Dutch). Amsterdam: Prometheus. ISBN   9789044645408. OCLC   1395131743. 555 pages.
• Honings, Rick; Jensen, Lotte (2019). Romantici en revolutionairen. Literatuur en schrijverschap in Nederland in de 18de en 19de eeuw. Amsterdam: Prometheus. ISBN   9789044630770. OCLC   1112596383. 407 pages.

Awards

• Erik Hazelhoff Biografieprijs 2014 (biography award), from the Stichting Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema Prijs foundation, shared with co-author Peter van Zonneveld ^[6] for the literary biography De gefnuikte arend. Het leven van Willem Bilderdijk, 2013.
• Gerrit Komrij-prijs 2013, likewise shared with co-author Peter van Zonneveld, ^[7] also for De gefnuikte arend. Het leven van Willem Bilderdijk, 2013.
• Shortlist Libris Geschiedenis Prijs 2024 (Libris History Prize, history book award), nomination for De ontdekking van Insulinde (The Discovery of Insulinde). ^[8]

References

1. "Centre for the Arts in Society". universiteitleiden.nl. Leiden University. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
2. "Rick Honings, Senior University Lecturer". universiteitleiden.nl. Leiden University. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
3. "Indische Letteren" [Indonesian Letters. Journal of the Working Group on Indo-Dutch Literature]. Tijdschrift van de Werkgroep Indisch-Nederlandse Letterkunde. Werkgroep Indisch-Nederlandse Letterkunde. ISSN   0920-6949. OCLC   1055691051.
4. "Find items in libraries near you". search.worldcat.org. OCLC Inc. 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025. Search for "Honings, Rick".
5. "Rick Honings: Star Authors in the Age of Romanticism". aup.nl. Amsterdam University Press. 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
6. "Erik Hazelhoff Biografieprijs 2014 Rick Honings / Peter van Zonneveld 2014". dutchheights.nl. Dutch Heights. 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
7. "Juryrapport Gerrit Komrij-prijs 2013". neerlandistiek.nl (in Dutch). Neerlandistiek. Online tijdschrift voor taal- en letterkunde. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
8. "Shortlist Libris Geschiedenis Prijs 2024". libris.nl. Libris Blz. B.V. 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.

External links

• Official website
• "Rick Honings". dbnl.org (in Dutch). DBNL, Digital Library for Dutch Literature . Retrieved 14 August 2025.