Overview
De mannen van ’80 aan het woord—‘The Men of ’80 Speak’—revisits the Dutch literary movement associated with the ‘Generation of 1880,’ asking its representatives to discuss the principles that shaped De Nieuwe Gids and the literary renewal of the period. The movement is associated with a…
This title is catalogued in Classics & Literature. Its reading profile is Medium and Moderate, with themes including ideas, literature.
One-Page Summary
De mannen van ’80 aan het woord—‘The Men of ’80 Speak’—revisits the Dutch literary movement associated with the ‘Generation of 1880,’ asking its representatives to discuss the principles that shaped De Nieuwe Gids and the literary renewal of the period. The movement is associated with a rejection of older literary conventions and a stronger emphasis on individual artistic expression, modern style, and the autonomy of literature. By letting the participants speak about their own principles, the work becomes a record of literary self-definition. Movements often look coherent in later histories, but contemporary debate reveals disagreements, rivalries, and different ideas about what ‘new’ should mean.
The book therefore has value as intellectual history: it preserves the voices of writers and critics explaining what they believed they were changing. For a modern reader, the most interesting question is not simply whether their ideas were correct, but how literary revolutions happen. A new generation decides that the old language no longer expresses its experience, then fights over what should replace it.
Key Themes
Ideas: This title is tagged with ideas as one of its main themes.
Literature: This title is tagged with literature as one of its main themes.