Tip Marugg

Last updated

Silvio Alberto (Tip) Marugg (1923–2006) was a Dutch-Curaçaoan writer and poet, best known for his 1988 novel De morgen loeit weer aan (translated into English as The Roar of Morning [1] ). His style is best characterized as a variation on magic realism. Marugg wrote poetry before publishing three novels; he is also the author of Dikshonario Erotiko, a dictionary of all words with an erotic meaning used in Papiamentu.

Contents

Biography

Ancestry

Marugg's ancestors on his father's side hail from the Swiss town of Klosters, and moved to the Netherlands. His great-great-great-grandfather was born in Amsterdam in 1784; he was a surgeon who left for Curaçao in 1804 where he married Elisabeth Schul(d)er. Silvio Alberto Marugg was the son of Johann Isaac Abraham Marugg (1893-1968) and Johanna Helena Curiel (1887-1961); he was one of seven siblings who survived infancy. [2] His mother was from Curaçao but had been raised in Venezuela. [2]

Youth and schooling; military service and first literary exploits

Marugg, whose nickname at home was "Tip", [2] was born in Willemstad, Curaçao, on 16 December 1923, [3] in the Roman-Catholic district Otrabanda, where his father owned a grocery store. He went to the local Catholic school because the Protestant school, across the bay in Punda, was too far away. He attended the MULO at the Saint Thomas college, and then the Algemene middelbare school. By the time he turned 18, World War 2 was in full swing, and he was called up for military service, despite being enrolled in school. He was in the army for five years, until 1947. Official reports from that period describe him as calm, honest, polite, intelligent, and a conscientious worker. Most of the time he was guarding oil installations and the harbor, where German U-boat attacks could be expected. He tried to do his guard duties with friends with whom he could discuss literature, and published his first poems in the magazine De Stoep in 1945. Starting in 1948, he published book reviews in La Prensa. After his military service he worked for various divisions of Shell, and ended up as editor of De Passaat, the company newspaper. He wrote prodigiously for the magazine though often without byline. His editor in chief was Oscar (Paachi) van Kampen, publisher of a humor magazine, Lorita Real, which he let Marugg write and edit whenever he was away or on vacation. By then Marugg had made writing his profession, in Dutch and in Papiamento. [2]

Literary career

Marugg's first literary publications were surrealist poems published in De Stoep between 1946 and 1951. A foundational theme in his work is the inability to live an authentic life, and fate, dead, and night are recurrent elements in his poetry, which is influenced by Hendrik Marsman. [3] He was deeply engaged with many literary activities on the island, including the Cultureel Centrum Curaçao, founded in 1949, for whom he made a Dutch-language version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night . He wrote a regular column for the magazine El Dorado (1949-1950), sat on awards juries, and tried his hand at painting. He visited various countries in the Americas, and in 1957-1958 spent a few months in the Netherlands, which he found to be cold. De Passaat, one of the best-looking magazines on the island, was published monthly in Dutch, Papiamento, English, Spanish, and Portuguese from 1944 to 1960, after which it became a quarterly for a few years and ceased publication in 1963; Marugg was editor in chief for the last few years. [2]

He published his first novel in 1957; Weekend pelgrimage has the economic and political situation of Curaçao as a subject, and expresses a distaste for industrialization. [3] The novel was published first in the magazine Antilliaanse Cahiers, and then as a book. It made him known in the Netherlands, and it was translated into English by Roy Edwards in 1960 as Weekend Pilgrimage, making him the first writer from the Dutch Antilles to be translated into English. His second novel, In de straten van Tepalka, was published in 1967; he retired from Shell three years later after 23 years with the company. He lived in Willemstad for a few more years and then moved to Pannekoek, a small community in the Bandabou district, on the western part of the island. The dry and hot steppe-like landscape appears frequently in his writing. He lived alone, with his dogs. [2] Existential loneliness is the subject of In de straten van Tepalka (1967); an ingenious doubling of characters allows the first-person narrator to make fun of himself without turning the novel into melodrama. His collected poetry was published in 1976 as Afschuw van licht. [3]

For many years Marugg worked on his third novel. A handwritten manuscript was typed out at the University of the Dutch Antilles, then brought to Amsterdam for publication. De morgen loeit weer aan (1988) was an instant success; it was reprinted six times in the first year. It was nominated for the AKO Literature Prize, and he won the Cola Debrot award in Curaçao (1989). In 1991 he published Un prinsipio pa un Dikshonario Erotika Papiamentu, an alphabetical list of words and expressions in Papiamento pertaining to love, eroticism, and sex. Initially refused by publishers on Curaçao, it is a linguistic study demonstrating Marugg's deep knowledge of Dutch and Papiamento. [2]

The semi-autobiographical nature of his writing has led to misunderstandings; after his rise to fame for De morgen loeit weer aan, some of these details, combined with outlandish stories about his life in a remote area of Curaçao, appeared in newspapers--that he had lived in Venezuela, that his mother was Venezuelan, that he was an atheist who wandered around drunk at night, that the military police had pulled him out of school. Such details are incorrect. [2]

In 2001, De morgen loeit weer aan was republished in a single volume along with Weekend pelgrimage and In de straten van Tepalka. A collected works was published in 2009, as De hemel is van korte duur. Verzameld werk 1945-1995, edited by Aart G. Broek and Wim Rutgers. Petra Possel verzamelde in Niemand is een eiland (2009) is a collection of interviews and conversations with Marugg, edited by Petra Possel. [4]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curaçao</span> Dutch Caribbean island country

Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a Lesser Antilles island in the southern Caribbean Sea, specifically the Dutch Caribbean region, about 65 km (40 mi) north of Venezuela. It is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willemstad</span> Capital and the largest city of Curaçao

Willemstad is the capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010. The historic centre of the city consists of four quarters: the Punda and Otrobanda, which are separated by the Sint Anna Bay, an inlet that leads into the large natural harbour called the Schottegat, as well as the Scharloo and Pietermaai Smal quarters, which are across from each other on the smaller Waaigat harbour. Willemstad is home to the Curaçao synagogue, the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas. The city centre, with its unique architecture and harbour entry, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papiamento</span> Creole language in the Dutch Caribbean

Papiamento or Papiamentu is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands.

The music of Curaçao is known for typical waltzes, danzas, mazurkas and a kind of music called tumba, which is named after the conga drums that accompany it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Martinus Arion</span>

Frank Martinus Arion was a Curaçaoan poet, novelist, and language advocate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tula (Curaçao)</span> Leader of the Curaçao Slave Revolt of 1795

Tula, also known as Tula Rigaud, was an African man enslaved on the island of Curaçao, in the Dutch West Indies, who liberated himself and led the Curaçao Slave Revolt of 1795. The revolt, which began on 17 August 1795, lasted for more than a month. He was executed on 3 October 1795. He is revered on Curaçao today as a fighter for human rights and independence.

Papiamento has two standardised orthographies, one used on the island of Aruba and the other on the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire. The Aruban orthography is more etymological in nature, while the other is more phonemic. Among the differences between the two standards, one obvious difference is the way the name of the language is written. In Aruba it is written Papiamento, while in Curaçao and Bonaire it is written Papiamentu. The governments of Curaçao and Aruba formally standardised orthographic rules in 1976 and 1977, respectively.

Frederick Hendrik (Henry) Habibe is an Aruban poet, literary critic and literary man.

Afro-Curaçaoans are people from the island of Curaçao of fully or partially African descent. They make up the majority of Curaçao's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irene Dick</span> Curaçaoan politician

Irene Dick is a Curaçaoan politician. A member of the Sovereign People, she was Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport from 23 December 2013 until 23 December 2016. Dick replaced Ivar Asjes, who held the office while concurrently Prime Minister since the resignation of Rubia Bitorina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joceline Clemencia</span>

Joceline Clemencia was an Afro-Curaçaoan writer, linguist, feminist and independence activist. She advocated for the Creole language spoken in Curaçao, Papiamento, to become an official language and was successful in the struggle, having created both language schools and texts to further its cultural significance. She was in favor of full independence of Curaçao from the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nydia Ecury</span> Aruban-Dutch writer, translator and actress

Nydia Ecury was an Aruban-Dutch writer, translator and actress. She published five collections of poetry and translated plays of major European and American playwrights into the Papiamentu language, helping to develop the native dialect into a cultural language. The recipient of numerous awards, including the Chapi di Plata literary prize, Ecury was honored as a knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alette Beaujon</span> Curaçaoan/Aruban psychologist and poet

Alette Beaujon was a Dutch poet and psychologist from the Netherlands Antilles. Born in Curaçao and later living in the Netherlands and Aruba, she published poems in Dutch, English and Papiamento, while working as a clinical psychologist. A collection of her unpublished poems were discovered after her death and released in 2009.

<i>Fleurs de Marécage</i> French collection of poems by J. Slauerhoff

Fleurs de Marécage is a collection of French poems by Dutch poet J. Slauerhoff, first published in 1929. Some are poems originally written in French, others are French translations by the poet of his originally Dutch poems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Lebacs</span> Curaçaoan writer and actress (1947–2022)

Diana Melinda Lebacs was a Curaçaoan educator, actress, and author, most known for her children's literature. She wrote in both Papiamento and Dutch. In 1976 she received the Zilveren Griffel award, one of the Netherlands' highest honors for youth literature, for her book Nancho van Bonaire. In 2003 she earned the inaugural Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied for her book Caimin's geheim and in 2007 she was honored as a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Sjoerd Kuyper is a Dutch poetry and prose writer of adult, children's and youth books, theatre, TV series, film scripts and lyrics. His best-known works are the film Het zakmes, the series of books about the toddler Robin, the poem Mensen met koffers, the lyrics Hallo wereld and the youth novels Hotel De Grote L and Bizar (Bizarre). His books have been published in fifteen countries. He has won, among other things, six Zilveren Griffels and a Gouden Griffel for Robin en God. In 2012 he was awarded the Theo Thijssen Prijs for his entire oeuvre, and in 2014 he was appointed Officier in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau for his merits in Dutch literature at home and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May Henriquez</span> Curaçao writer and sculptress

May Henriquez was a Curaçaoan writer and sculptress. Henriquez wrote and translated works in Papiamentu, the Portuguese-based creole language spoken in Curaçao. She was recognised for her work for the Curaçaoan art community.

Pierre Lauffer was a Curaçaoan writer and poet who mainly wrote in Papiamentu. He is considered one of the greatest poets of Curaçao.

Nilda Maria Geerdink-Jesurun Pinto was a Curaçaoan writer of children's books. She was the first to record in Papiamento children's songs and stories from the oral tradition of the Netherlands Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernesto Petronia</span> Politician of the Netherlands Antilles

Ernesto Otilio "Netto" Petronia was an Curaçao-born Aruban businessman and politician. He served many times as a minister with multiple portfolios, and was Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles from 1969 until 1971.

References

  1. Ron Slate on The Roar of Morning, a novel by Tip Marugg; ronslate.com, 20 November 2015
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Coomans, Henny E. (1991). Coomans, Henny; Coomans-Eustatia, Maritza; Rutgers, Wim (eds.). Drie Curaçaose schrijvers in veelvoud: Boeli van Leeuwen, Tip Marugg, Frank Martinus Arion. pp. 277–84.
  3. 1 2 3 4 van Bork, G.J.; Verkruijsse, P.J., eds. (1985). "Marugg, Tip". De Nederlandse en Vlaamse auteurs.
  4. van Bork, G. J., ed. (2003). "Marugg, Tip". Schrijvers en dichters. Digital Library for Dutch Literature.