Moeyaert, Bart

Bart (Boudewijn Peter) Moeyaert, the seventh of seven boys, was named after the protagonist in Dutch writer Anne De Vries's book Bartje zoekt het geluk (Little Bart Seeks His Fortune). Bart's middle name, Boudewijn or �Baudouin,� is not a coincidence. It refers to the late King Baudouin of Belgium, who�as is want to happen in Belgium with the youngest of seven sons born all in a row�was Bart's godfather.Bart was born on June 9, 1964, in Brugge, Belgium, and that's where he grew up�in a large house at the edge of town. He was the kind of kid who drew lots of pictures, liked to tinker with stuff, and build tree houses and other things. He always read a lot�all kinds of books�like those by Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren, who liked to write about willful children and about villages that seemed like large families. He read just about all of her books as a youngster, which makes him greatly indebted to her.Bart completed the Arts Academy in Ghent, then studied Dutch, German, and history in Brussels. He made his debut in 1983 with his autobiographical Duet met valse noten (Off-Key Duet). The book was named the Best Book of the Year in 1984 by the Belgian Children's and Young Adult Jury and has been translated into German, Catalan, and Japanese. It turned out to be a bestseller that became a �longseller,� entering into its second life as a play as well as a musical.His other books, such as Kus me (Kiss Me), 1991, which received the Belgian 1992 Book Lion Award;Blote handen (Bare Hands), 1995, which won the Book Lion Award in 1996, The Silver Paintbrush in 1995, the German Children's Literature Prize in 1997, the Norwegian Translators' Prize in 1997, and the Interprovincial Prize in 1998; Het is de liefde die we niet begrijpen (It's Love We Don't Understand), 1999, which received the Book Lion Award in 2000; and Dani Bennoni, 2004, which earned the 2005 Book Cub Award and the Dutch Nienke van Hichtum Award, have been described by critics as �poetic,� �filmic,� �full of atmosphere.� His works have also been translated into many languages�seventeen at last count.Since 1995, Bart Moeyaert has made writing his profession. He has written screenplays and plays; he has published Dutch translations of books from German (by Christine N�stlinger and by J�rg Schubiger), from English (by Carolyn Coman), and from French (by Chris Donner and by Fr�d�ric Cl�ment); and for years he wrote articles about design for De Standaard Magazine, the cultural supplement of the renowned paper, De Standaard.For Belgian composer Filip Bral and illustrator Gerda Dendooven, he wrote the book Luna van de Boom (Luna of the Tree), based on the Slovakian fairy tale, which is accompanied by a music CD. The book became a project, with Bart narrating the story to an animated film with orchestral accompagnement. It was very successful and won the 2001 Golden Owl Award and has been presented in Germany, Austria, France, Spain, and Sweden.De Schepping (The Creation) is another such project combining text and music, performed by the Dutch Woodwind Ensemble. This exceptional picture book, in which Bart tells his own version of the Creation story, is illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch (winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, 2006). It was published simultaneously in Dutch, German, and French. In the performance that goes with the book in the form of a CD, the writer is the narrator, accompanied by the Dutch Woodwind Ensemble playing a selection from Haydn's Creation.Olek schoot een beer (Olek Shot a Bear) is Bart's most recent project where text and music are combined. This extra-large picture book, in which the story of The Firebird is retold in a completely different way, is again illustrated by the acclaimed Wolf Erlbruch. The music is a new composition by Wim Henderickx, performed by the Flemish Radio Orchestra�the orchestra that worked together with Martin Scorsese for the soundtrack of The Aviator. Olek schoot een beer (Olek Shot a Bear) will be published simultaneously in Dutch, German, and French. In the performance that goes with the book in the form of a CD, the writer again is the narrator, accompanied by the Flemish Radio OrchestraFor two years, Bart wrote a story every month about his six brothers and himself for Het Nieuw Wereldtijdschrift (The New World Magazine), the leading literary magazine of Flanders, and for De Standaard der Letteren. These stories were collected in Broere (Brothers), a book that reads as if it were a year taken from Bart's childhood. The book was awarded the 2001 Woutertje Pieterse Prize. The theatrical version of Brothers, in which Bart himself portrayed the narrator, was commended by the jury of the Belgian-Dutch Signal Prize as an outstanding piece and went into its fourth season in 2003.In 2004, Bart was nominated a third time for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award. In 2002 he became an HCA finalist.Bart Moeyaert's latest novel, Dani Bennoni (lang zal hij leven) (Dani Bennoni [he's a jolly good fellow] was published in fall 2004. Only recently have the unpublished poems that Bart wrote over the course of many years been collected. The poem �Klein� (Small) is sixty feet tall on the facade of the theater building known as The Palace in Antwerp, and �Siberi�� (Siberia) and �Bekentenis� (Confession) were posted for months on billboards in the Rotterdam subway. But they can all be read between the covers of Verzamel de liefde (Gather Love).The broad success of this collection of poems and his ability to bring several arts together prompted Antwerp in 2006 to name Bart Moeyaert Poet Laureate of the City of Antwerp, the city where Bart lives together with Robin in a house with lots of movie houses around the corner, the zoo and the library a stone's throw away, and a view out over the rooftops.Works by Bart Moeyaert available in English and published by Front Street Books, Asheville, NC:Bare Hands (1998), translation by David Colmer.Hornet's Nest (2000), translation by David Colmer.It's Love We Don't Understand (2002), translation by Wanda Boeke.Brothers (2005), translation by Wanda Boeke.Dani Bennoni (fall 2006), translation by Wanda Boeke.� More about Bart Moeyaert� Bart Moeyaert on The World of Books