Wouters, Liliane 1930-

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WOUTERS, Liliane 1930-

PERSONAL: Born February 5, 1930, in Brussels, Belgium. Education: Graduated from Gysegen teacher training school, Alost, Belgium.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Editions les Éperonniers, Box 7, rue Picard, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium.

CAREER: Poet and playwright, c. 1954—; teacher.

MEMBER: Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique, Académie européenne de poésie.

AWARDS, HONORS: Nuit de la Poésie jury prize, 1955, for La marche forcée; Prix Triennal de Poésie, 1962; Grand Prix de Poésie de la Maison de Poésie, 1989; Prix du Conseil de la Communauté française de Belgique pour théâtre, 1990; Prix Triennal de traduction de la Communauté Flamande, 1992; Prix Montaigne, Fondation Frédéric von Schiller, 1995, for body of work; Prix Quinquénal de la Communauté française, 2000, and Bourse Goncourt de la Poésie, 2001, both for Le billet de Pascal.

WRITINGS:

POETRY

La marche forcée (title means "Forced March"), Éditions des Artistes (Brussels, Belgium), 1954.

Le bois sec (title means "Dry Wood"), Gallimard (Paris, France), 1960.

Le Gel (title means "The Thaw"), P. Seghers (Paris, France), 1966.

Chansons et enluminures, Éditions J. Antoine (Brussels, Belgium), 1980.

L'alöes (title means "The Aloe"), Luneau Ascot (Paris, France), 1983.

Parenthèse, Atelier d'Art, Saint Laurent du Pont (Isere, Belgium), 1984.

Journal de scribe, Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1990.

La salle des profs: piece en douze sequences, Éditions Labor (Brussels, Belgium), 1994.

Tous les chemins conduisent à la mer: poèmes, Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1997.

La saveur du pain, Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1998.

Le billet de Pascal, Éditons Phi (Echternach, Luxembourg), 2000.

Les sept portiques du chemin de Paques, Taillis Pre (Chatelineau, Belgium), 2000.

TRANSLATIONS

Belles heures de Flandre, P. Seghers (Paris, France), 1961.

Guido Gezelle, P. Seghers (Paris, France), 1965.

Bréviaire des Pays-Bas: anthologie de la littérature neerlandaise du XIIIe au Xve siècle, Éditions Universitaires (Brussels, Belgium), 1973.

Reynart le Goupil, Renaissane du Livre (Brussels, Belgium), 1973.

Un compagnon pour toutes les saisons, Guido Gezelle, Autres Temps (Marseille, France), 1999.

PLAYS

Oscarine ou les tournesols (title means "Oscarine, or The Sunflowers"), produced in Brussels, Belgium, at Rideau de Bruxelles, 1964.

La porte (title means "The Door"), produced in Liege, Belgium, at Théâtre de la Communaute, 1967.

Vies et morts de Mademoiselle Shakespeare (title means "Life and Death of Miss Shakespeare"), produced in Brussels, Belgium, at Théâtre de l'Esprit Frappeur, 1979.

Celéstine, based on the play by Fernando de Rojas, produced in Brussels, Belgium, at Théâtre Royal du Parc, 1981.

La salle des profs: pièce en douze sequences (produced at Théâtre de l'Esprit Frappeur, 1983), Les Eperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1983.

L'équateur (sequel to Vies et morts de MademoiselleShakespeare, ) Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1984, produced at Théâtre de l'Esprit Frappeur, 1986.

Charlotte ou la nuit Mexicaine: pièce en douze sequences (produced at Théâtre de l'Ancre, 1989), Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1989.

Le jour du narval (produced at Théâtre du Grand Midi, 1991), Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1991.

OTHER

(Editor with Alain Bosquet, and contributor) La Poésie francophone de Belgique: 1903-1926, Académie Royale de Langue et de Littérature Françaises (Brussels, Belgium), 1992.

(Editor with Alain Bosquet, and contributor) La Poésie francophone de Belles heures de Flandre: anthologie de la poésie flamande du XIIeme au XVIeme siècle, Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 1997.

Also compiler of Feux by Marguerite Yourcenar, Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium).

Poetry represented in anthologies, including Panorama de la poésie française de Belgique, Éditions J. Antoine (Brussels, Belgium), 1976; Terre d'écarts: ecrivains français de Belgique, Éditions Universitaires (Brussels, Belgium), 1980; La poésie francophone de Belgique: 1804-1884, Éditions Traces (Brussels, Belgium), 1985; Ça rime et ça rame: anthologie thematique des poétes francophones de Belgique, Éditions Labor (Brussels, Belgium), 1985; La Poésie francophone de Belgique: 1885-1900, Éditions Traces (Brussels, Belgium), 1987; Belgique: 1928-1962, Académie Royale de Langue et de Littérature Françaises (Brussels, Belgium), 1992; Le siècle des femmes: Poésie francophone en Belgique et au Grand-Duche de Luxembourg, XXe siècle, Les Éperonniers (Brussels, Belgium), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: Liliane Wouters is an acclaimed poet, playwright, editor, and translator. Her translations of Flemish Medieval and Renaissance literature are noted for their attention to the complexities and subtleties of the original works. Wouters's own poetry also shows the influence of the "mysticism and sensuality of older Flemish literature," according to Donald Friedman in Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers. Her first volume of poetry, La marche forcée, includes imagery of quest and pilgrimage. Le bois sec contains spatial metaphors, while L'alöes has a more sensual atmosphere. "The tensions, dichotomies and melding of spiritual and physical experience," wrote Friedman, "is the dominant thematic of her four expansive volumes of poetry."

Among Wouters's best-known plays is Vie et mort de Mademoiselle Shakespeare, which is noted for its skillful blend of irony, humor, and feeling. Her La salle des profs is considered a milestone in contemporary Belgian theater.